JUN271910 


JOHN    STARK    RAVENSCROFT 
FIRST     BISHOP     OF     NORTH     CAROLINA 


LIVES  OF  THE  BISHOPS 


OF 


NORTH  CAROLINA 


JUN  :il  1910 


FROM  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  EPISCOPATE 

IN  THAT  STATE  DOWN  TO  THE  DIVISION 

OF  THE  DIOCESE. 


BY 
MARSHALL  DeLANCEY  HAYWOOD 

histobiogkaphee  of  the  diocese  of  nobth  carolina, 

Author  of  "Governok  William  Teyon  and  His  Administration 

IN  THE  Province  of  North  Carolina,  1765-1771,"  etc. 


rUBLISHED  BY 

ALFRED  WILLIAMS  &  COMPANY 

Raleigh,  North  Carolina 

1910 


Copyright,  1910, 
By  Alfked  Williams  &  Company. 


presses  of 
The  Commercial  Printing  Company 

RALEIGH,  N.  C. 


DEDICATED 

TO 

THE  VENERABLE  SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PROPAGATION 
OF  THE  GOSPEL  IN  FOREIGN  PARTS, 

IN  GRATEFUL  ACKNOWLEDGMENT  FOR  ITS  LABORS  IN  DISSEMINATING 

AMONG   OUR   COLONIAL   FOREFATHERS 

THE  PRINCIPLES 

OF  THE 


CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND, 


'to  WHICH  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  THESE  STATES 

IS   INDEBTED,   UNDER  GOD,   FOR   HER   FIRST    FOUNDATION 

AND  A  LONG  CONTINUANCE  OF  NURSING  CARE 

AND    PROTECTION." 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Office  of  Bishop,  the  Anglican  Church  in  I^obth 
Carolina  During  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  Times, 
AND  the  Foundation  of  the  American  Episcopate      .         9 

John  Stark  Ravenscroft 37 

First  Bishop. 

Levi  Silliman  Ives 91 

Second  Bishop. 

Thomas  Atkinson 143 

Third  Bishop. 

Theodore  Benedict  Lyman 207 

Fourth  Bishop. 

Index 255 

PORTRAITS. 

page. 

Bishop  Ravenscroft Frontispiece, 

Bishop  Ives 91 

Bishop  Atkinson 143 

Bishop  Lyman 207 


"Patriots  informed  with  apostolic  light 

Were  they,  who,  when  their  country  had  been  freed, 
Bowing  with  reverence  to  the  ancient  creed, 
Fixed  on  the  frame  of  England's  Church  their  sight, 
And  strove  in  filial  love  to  reunite 
What  force  had  severed." 

— William  Wordsworth. 


Office  of  Bishop,  the  Anglican  Church  in 
North  Carolina  During  Colonial  and 
Revolutionary  Times,  and  the  Founda- 
tion of  the  American  Episcopate. 


OFFICE   OF  BISHOP,  THE  AISTGLICAN  CHUKCH  IN 
NORTH   CAEOLIJSTA  DURING   COLONIAL   AND 
REVOLUTIONARY  TIMES,  AND  THE  FOUN- 
DATION OF  THE  AMERICAN 
EPISCOPATE. 

Were  the  welfare  of  the  dead  alone  to  be  considered,  history 
would  be  a  useless  study.  If  just  men  be  forgotten,  and  "mem- 
ory o'er  their  tomb  no  trophies  raise,"  they  still  have  an  all- 
suincient  reward,  and  from  their  home  on  high  may  view  with 
complacency  the  scant  respect  paid  to  the  deeds  wrought  by 
them — 

"When  they  passed  by  the  gateway  of  this  world 
On  their  immortal  quest." 

As  an  inspiration  to  the  living,  however,  history  has  a  noble 
use.  It  is  an  incentive  to  high  thoughts  and  great  efforts  toward 
well-doing.  This  is  especially  true  of  that  class  of  history  called 
biography.  The  lives  of  the  great  and  good  in  all  ages  may  be 
studied  with  profit  when  faithfully  recorded.  Hence  it  is  the 
purpose  of  the  present  work  to  tell  something  of  four  Bishops 
who  have  served  God  and  His  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  North 
Carolina.  Ere  we  enter  upon  a  narrative  of  their  ministerial 
work,  however,  it  may  be  well  to  consider  the  authority  by 
which  they  exercised  the  duties  of  their  high  and  sacred  office. 

Scriptural  authority  for  the  existence  of  the  office  of  Bishop 
was  formerly  .conceded  by  all  Christians ;  and  hence  we  find  on 
that  subject  few,  if  any,  arguments  among  the  writings  of  the 
pre-Reformation  period.  The  early  theologians  thought  it  use- 
less to  defend  a  doctrine  which  no  one  in  a  Christian  land  had 
ever  questioned.  In  later  times,  however,  the  validity  of  the 
office  of  Bishop,  as  a  distinct  order  in  the  sacred  ministry,  has 
been  called  into  question  by  some  denominations  of  Christians  on 
the  alleged  grounds  that  the  terms  "Bishop"  and  "Presbyter"  (or 
priest)  were  synonymous  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles;  and  that. 


^^  Bishops  of  North  Cabolina. 

after  the  twelve  Apostles  had  all  died,  the  Bishops  who  claimed 
to  exercise  apostolic  powers  were  in  reality  only  presbyters.     It 
is  true  that  the  terms  Bishop  and  Presbyter  are  sometimes  used 
synonymously  in  Holy  Scriptures;  yet  it  is  equally  apparent, 
from  the  same  high  authority,  that  the  Apostles  filled  up  and 
increased  their  own  ranks  by  the  election  of  associates  and  suc- 
cessors in   addition  to   those  whom   Christ  had  commissioned 
after  He  sent  the  first  twelve.     Trom  the  records  of  the  early 
Church  it  also  appears  that  the  successors  of  the  Apostles  were 
later  called  Bishops.    In  his  work  entitled  Reasons  for  Being  a 
Churchman,  the  Eeverend  Arthur  W.  Little  quotes  Theodoret 
a  Syrian  Bishop  and  a  disciple  of  the  great  Saint  Chrysostom' 
writing  about  the  year  440,  who  says :    "The  same  persons  were 
m  ancient  times  called  indifferently  Presbyters  or  Bishops,  at 
which    thne    those    who    are   now    called   Bishops   were    called 
Apostles."     There  is  ample  authority  in  the  Scriptures  for  the 
fact  that  successors  of  the  twelve  Apostles  were  chosen  to  carry 
on  their  work.    At  Christ's  ascension  only  eleven  Apostles  were 
present.     After  the  ascension  it  was  said  of  the  traitor  Judas: 
"His  bishoprick  [^^  e.  apostleship]  let  another  take,"  and  Mat- 
thias was  chosen  by  lot  and  thereafter  numbered  with  the  re- 
maining eleven  Apostles  (Acts  I,  20).     By  force  of  a  miracle, 
after  His   ascension,   Christ   converted   Saul,   and  later   added 
him  to  the  band  of  Apostles  under  the  name  of  Paul  (Acts  IX 
and  XIII).    Barnabas  was  also  added  to  the  Apostles  by  divine 
command  (Acts  XIII,  2-3).     While  Paul  was  before  IS^ero  in 
Rome  the  second  time,  he  sent  his  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy 
(not  one  of  the  original  twelve),  whom  he  had  ordained  Bishop 
of  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  exhorting  him  to  "stir  up  the  gift  of 
God  ivhich  is  in  thee  hy  the  putting  on  of  my  hands"  (II  Tim- 
othy, I,  6),  charging  him  furthermore  that  "the  things  that 
thou  hast  heard  of  me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit 
thou  to  faithful  men  who  shall  he  able  to  teach  others  also" 
(II  Timothy,  II,  2).     Here,  then,  is  the  scriptural  beginning 
of  apostolic  succession,  for  Christ  chooses  and  commissions  the 


Bishops  of  Nortii  Carolina.  11 

original  twelve;  after  His  ascension  into  heaven  He  calls  Paul, 
by  a  direct  revelation,  to  the  same  apostleship;  Paul  ordains 
Timothy  as  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  charging  him  that  he  shoiJd 
commit  the  teachings  which  he  had  received  "to  faithful  men 
who  should  be  able  to  teach  others  also."  Then,  too,  it  will  be 
remembered,  Paul  sent  Titus  (who  was  not  one  of  the  original 
twelve)  to  Crete,  charging  him  to  "ordain  elders"  (i.  e.  presby- 
ters) in  every  city  (Titus,  I,  5).  Of  Timothy's  ordination  as 
Bishop  of  Ephesus  it  has  been  written  by  a  former  Presbyterian 
clergyman  whose  studies  finally  led  him  into  the  Anglican 
Church:  "We  care  not  by  what  name  you  call  him — Priest, 
Presbyter,  Bishop,  Suffragan,  Superintendent,  Ruler,  Governor, 
Evangelist,  Missionary,  Moderator,  Primus-Presbyter,  Apostle, 
Assistant  of  the  Apostle,  Messenger,  Prelate,  Angel,  Antistes, 
Princeps,  Prseses,  Prsepositus,  Archon,  Proestos,  or  Prsefect 
(as  Calvin  styles  James  in  the  Church  at  Jerusalem) — call  him 
hy  what  name  you  please;  write  it  in  Latin,  Greek  or  Hebrew; 
read  it  forward,  read  it  backward;  it  comes  to  the  same  thing: 
Timothy  succeeds  to  the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  Paul."* 

But  the  Apostles  worked  miracles,  it  has  been  said,  and  hence 
no  Bishop  can  prove  the  apostolic  origin  of  his  office  without 
demonstrating  a  similar  power.  "If  that  argument  proves  any- 
thing," says  Doctor  Little,  "it  proves  too  much;  for  the  early 
Presbyters  worked  miracles,  and  the  Deacons  too — notably  SS. 
Stephen  and  Philip.  Ergo,  nobody  can  be  a  Presbyter  or  a 
Deacon  unless  he  can  work  miracles."t 

The  American  Episcopal  Church,  as  every  one  knows,  is  a 
direct,  legitimate  and  acknowledged  descendant  of  the  ancient 
Church  of  England.  Concerning  the  early  history  of  the 
Church  of  England  we  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  the  words 
of  John  Stark  Eavenscroft,  first  Bishop  of  North  Carolina,  who 

*  A  Presbyterian  Clergyman  Looking  for  the  Church,  by  the  Rev- 
erend Flavel  S.  Mines,  concluding  volume,  p.  413. 

t  Reasons  for  Being  a  Churchman,  by  the  Reverend  Arthur  W. 
Little  (edition  of  1894),  p.  100,  note. 


12  Bishops  of  ISTokth  Carolina. 

says :  "The  Bisliop  of  Konie  had,  personally,  little  or  nothing 
to  do  with  it  up  to  the  seventh  century.  It  was  an  independent 
apostolical  church  under  its  own  Bishops.  Its  connection  with 
the  Church  of  Home  commenced  with  Augustine,  the  monk,  who 
was  consecrated  the  first  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  not  by  the 
Bishop  of  Eome,  but  by  the  Archbishop  of  Aries,  in  France, 
early  in  the  seventh  century.  And  I  notice  this  not  because 
there  is  any  real  force  in  the  objection  derived  from  the  suc- 
cession passing  through  even  the  person  of  the  Bishop  or  Pope 
of  Home,  but  in  order  to  remove  the  prejudices  so  studiously 
instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  ignorant  on  this  subject."*  The 
same  writer  further  remarks :  "Perhaps  not  a  single  Bishop 
who  reformed  from  Popery  in  the  sixteenth  century  received 
his  consecration  by  the  imposition  of  the  Pope's  hands ;  perhaps 
not  one  in  a  hundred  of  the  existing  Bishops  in  the  Latin  or 
Western  Church  during  any  Pontificate,  from  the  rise  of 
Papacy,  was  thus  consecrated.  And  it  is  not  an  unreasonable 
or  unfounded  assumption  that,  in  the  wide  and  extended  boun- 
dary of  the  Western  Church,  the  ordaining  power  was  canoni- 
cally  transmitted,  in  the  regular  succession,  from  Bishop  to 
Bishop,  without  contracting  any  fancied  contamination  from 
the  person  of  the  Pope."t  When  it  was  averred  that  the  line  of 
apostolic  succession  in  the  Church  of  England  had  been  broken 
at  the  time  that  the  Reforming  Bishops  were  excommunicated 
by  the  Pope,  Bishop  Pavenscroft's  answer  was :  "That  the  su- 
premacy claimed  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome  was  an  usurpation, 
and  no  part  of  his  original  and  rightful  Episcopal  authority, 
can  require  no  proof  to  a  Protestant;  nor  yet  is  it  needful  to 
shov/  that  such  of  his  equals,  in  spiritual  ofiice,  as  had  submitted 
to  this  usurpation  in  the  darkness  of  the  middle  ages,  were  not 
thereby  precluded  from  shaking  off  this  lawless  authority 
usurped  over  them,   and  from  resuming  the  independence   of 

*  Worls  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  (edition  of  1830),  Vol.  I.,  p.  277. 
t  IMd,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  276-277. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  13 

their  character,  and  the  exercise  of  their  just  and  equal  rights, 
as  the  spread  of  knowledge  and  the  investigations  of  inquiry 
laid  open  and  exposed  the  corruptions  on  which  this  anti-chris- 
tian  domination  was  built  up."  *  In  brief,  the  Anglican  con- 
tention is  that  the  Church  of  England,  having  resumed  its  orig- 
inal rights,  and  no  longer  holding  itself  subject  to  foreign  domi- 
nation, could  not  legally  be  excommunicated  by  the  Pope  and 
his  Cardinals — Italians  and  other  outsiders — any  more  than 
the  Church  of  England  could  issue  an  effective  bull  of  excom- 
munication against  those  self-same  Italians  or  any  other  aliens 
who  were  not  within  its  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction.  And  it  may 
also  be  mentioned  that  even  if  the  apostolic  succession  of  the 
Church  of  England  had  been  broken  at  the  time  of  the  Keforma- 
tion,  such  defect  would  have  been  healed  in  the  next  century 
when  the  three  lines  of  English,  Irish  and  Italian  successions 
were  united  in  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Laud,  afterwards 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  from  v^^hom  (with  his  co-consecra- 
tors)  are  episcopally  descended  all  the  Bishops  of  the  present 
American  Church. 

The  territory  now  embraced  within  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina holds  the  proud  distinction  of  being  the  cradle  of  the  Angli- 
can Church  in  America,  its  history  antedating  by  a  score  of 
years  that  of  Jamestown.  In  1584,  when  Queen  Elizabeth 
granted  letters  patent  to  the  good  knight  Sir  "Walter  Ealeigh, 
authorizing  him  to  extend  her  dominions  throughout  the  New 
"World,  he  was  expressly  charged  that  in  the  lands  settled  by 
him  no  law  should  be  passed  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  "true 
Christian  faith  now  professed  in  the  Church  of  England."  The 
first  baptism  under  the  authority  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
America  occurred  on  Hoanoke  Island  in  what  is  now  Dare 
County,  North  Carolina,  when  Raleigh's  explorers  and  colonists 
made  at  that  place  the  earliest  English  settlement  in  the  western 
hemisphere.  It  was  there  that  Manteo,  the  "Lord  of  Eoanoke," 
a  friendly  Hatorask  Indian,  was  converted  to  Christianity  and 

*  Works  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  (edition  of  1830),  Vol.  I.,  p.  278. 


14  Bishops  of  J^orth  Carolina. 

baptized  in  August,  1587.  Another  baptism,  a  few  days  later, 
was  tbat  of  little  Virginia  Dare,  the  first  child  born  of  English 
parents  in  America.  But  shortly  after  this,  the  sturdy  old  Eng- 
lish sailors,  who  were  beginning  to  colonize  the  western  conti- 
nent, were  called  home  to  take  the  part  of  their  country  against 
the  great  Armada  which  had  been  sent  by  Spain  to  wipe  out 
Protestantism.  Then  it  was  that  Drake,  Grenville,  Raleigh, 
Hawkins  and  Erobisher,  with  other  adventurous  sea-fighters, 
were  kept  so  busy  in  the  waters  surrounding  Britain  that  they 
could  not  relieve  their  countrymen  at  Roanoke  at  the  time  prom- 
ised. When  the  next  English  voyagers  came  to  America,  Ra- 
leigh's colony  had  apparently  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the 
earth,  for  not  one  of  its  members  was  ever  heard  of  again ;  but 
the  Armada  had  been  destroyed,  English  vessels  could  now  pur- 
sue their  course  unmolested,  and  Anglo-Saxon  civilization  pre- 
vailed in  North  America.  It  was  at  Jamestown,  Virginia,  that 
the  English  race  and  English  Church  gained  their  first  perma- 
nent foothold  on  American  soil,  in  1607,  but  it  was  nearly  a 
hundred  years  later  before  any  effort  was  made  to  spread  Angli- 
can doctrines  throughout  the  scattered  settlements  of  Albemarle 
in  the  northern  division  of  Carolina.  All  of  the  Royal  Govern- 
ors of  JS^orth  Carolina,*  and  a  great  majority  of  those  who  con- 
stituted the  ruling  classes  in  the  province,  were  members  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  many  were  the  faithful  missionaries 
who  unselfishly  labored  for  the  moral  uplift  of  the  colonists. 
But  the  Church  had  strong  prejudices  to  encounter,  the  best 
grounded  of  these  being  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  established 
by  law.  In  the  early  charters  granted  by  the  King,  the  Church 
of  England  was  legally  recognized,  but  religious  liberty  was  in 
every  instance  guaranteed.  In  the  first  charter  issued  by 
Charles  II,  March  24,  1663,  that  monarch  authorized  the  Lords 
Proprietors  to  give  to  religious  worship  by  non-conformists  "full 

*  This  term  does  uot  include  Governors  of  the  undivided  Colony  of 
Carolina,  for  John  Archdale  was  a  Quaker. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  15 

and  free  license,  liberty  and  authority,  by  such  legal  ways  and 
means  as  they  shall  think  fit."  *  A  year  or  more  later,  in  1665, 
the  Lords  Proprietors  expressly  agreed  that  "no  person  or  per- 
sons .  .  .  shall  be  any  way  molested,  punished,  dis- 
quieted or  called  into  question  for  any  difference  in  opinion  or 
practice  in  matters  of  religious  concernment,  who  do  not  actu- 
ally disturb  the  civil  peace  of  the  said  province  or  counties; 
but  that  all  and  every  such  person  or  persons  may,  from  time  to 
time,  and  at  all  times,  freely  and  fully  have  and  enjoy  his  and 
their  judgments  and  consciences,  in  matters  of  religion,  through- 
out all  the  said  province,  they  behaving  themselves  peaceably 
and  quietly,  and  not  using  this  liberty  to  licentiousness,  nor  to 
the  civil  injury  or  outward  disturbance  of  others."t  This 
guarantee  had  been  authorized,  in  almost  the  same  language,  by 
the  second  charter  from  King  Charles  to  the  Lords  Proprietors, 
also  dated  1665.t  In  Locke's  "Grand  Model,"  or  Fundamental 
Constitution  of  Carolina,  drawn  up  in  1669,  the  ninety-seventh 
article  provided  that  "seven  or  more  persons,  agreeing  in  any 
religion,  shall  constitute  a  church  or  profession,  to  which  they 
shall  give  some  name  to  distinguish  it  from  others."  While 
referring  to  Locke's  constitution  we  may  add  that  in  the  one 
hundred  and  seventh  section  of  that  instrument  we  find  a  pro- 
vision, illustrative  of  the  Church's  interest  in  slaves,  as  fol- 
loAvs :  "Since  charity  obliges  us  to  wish  well  to  the  souls  of  all 
men,  and  religion  ought  to  alter  nothing  in  any  man's  civil 
estate  or  right,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  slaves,  as  well  as  others,  to 
enter  themselves  and  be  of  what  church  or  profession  any  of 
them  shall  think  best,  and  thereof  be  as  fully  members  as  any 
freemen;  but  yet  no  slave  shall  hereby  be  exempted  from  that 
civil  dominion  his  master  hath  over  him,  but  be  in  all  things 
in  the  same  state  and  condition  he  was  in  before." 

*  Colonial  Records  of  'S'ortfi  Carolina,  Vol.  I.,  p.  32. 
t  IJ)id,  Vol.  I.,  p.  80. 
^Ihid,  Vol.  I.,  p.  114. 


16  Bishops  of  jSTokth  Carolina. 

The  general  liistory  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  province 
of  j^Torth  Carolina,  during  the  days  of  royal  rule,  is  one  of  the 
greatest  interest ;  hut  to  trace  all  the  legislative  enactments 
made  in  its  favor,  and  to  tell  of  their  provisions,  would  require 
too  much  space  for  the  limits  of  the  present  work.  Parishes 
were  laid  out  in  the  various  counties,  glehes  erected,  and  taxes 
for  ecclesiastical  purposes  collected  from  all  the  people — Dis- 
senters as  well  as  Churchmen — yet  little  progress  was  made. 
When  a  church  is  supported  in  any  degree  at  the  public  expense 
and  not  left  to  its  own  resources,  it  is  not  likely  to  enjoy  a 
healthy  grovv^th;  hut,  when  dependent  only  upon  the  zeal  and 
devotion  of  its  members,  it  will  generally  meet  with  success  if  it 
deserves  it.  Hence  the  work  of  the  Church  of  England  was 
really  hindered  by  the  well-meaning  efforts  of  the  Governor's 
Council  and  Colonial  Assembly,  while  the  American  Church  has 
made  marvelous  and  merited  progress  since  Church  and  State 
were  separated  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the 
colonial  legislature  or  any  other  civil  power  absolutely  controlled 
the  Church  in  ISTorth  Carolina  prior  to  the  Revolution.  The 
province  was  under  the  episcopal  jurisdiction  of  the  Lord  Bishop 
of  London,  who  was  materially  aided  by  a  great  body  of  Chris- 
tian workers  known  as  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  The  right  of  advowson,  or  power  to 
recommend  a  clergyman  for  a  parochial  charge,  seems  to  have 
rested  with  the  Governor,  but  it  was  necessary  for  such  clergy- 
man to  be  licensed  by  the  Bishop  of  London  before  he  could 
officiate  in  the  Established  Church.  The  instructions  to  the 
Governor  of  IsTorth  Carolina  from  the  Crown  contained  this 
order :  "You  are  not  to  prefer  any  minister  to  any  ecclesiastical 
benefice  in  that  province  without  a  certificate  from  the  Bight 
Reverend  Father  in  God,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London,  of  his 
being  conformable  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church 
of  England,  and  of  good  life  and  conversation ;  and  if  any  per- 
son, already  preferred  to  a  benefice,  shall  appear  to  you  to  give 


Bishops  of  InTorth  Carolia'a.  17 

scandal,  eitlier  by  his  doctrine  or  manners,  you  are  to  use  the 
proper  and  usual  means  for  the  removal  of  him,  and  to  supply 
the  vacancy  in  such  manner  as  we  have  directed."* 

By  a  short-sighted  policy  the  Church  of  England  never  per- 
mitted the  consecration  of  any  Bishop  for  work  in  America 
prior  to  the  Revolution,  though  it  is  believed  by  many  that  the 
Eeverend  Eichard  Welton,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Eeverend 
John  Talbot,  of  jSTew  Jersey,  received  clandestine  consecration 
to  the  Episcopate  by  the  successors  of  the  i^N"on-juring  Bishops 
about  the  year  1722.  The  need  of  Bishops  was  deeply  felt  by 
both  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church  of  England  in  America. 
In  a  petition  from  the  clergy  of  !N^ew  Jersey  and  I^ew  York  to 
the  Bishop  of  London  it  was  said :  "The  expediency  of  Bishops 
in  the  English  American  Colonies  is  a  point  which  has  been, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  this  present  century,  frequently  as- 
serted on  the  one  hand  and  generally  admitted  on  the  other."t 
In  1738,  one  clergyman  proposed  a  somewhat  extensive  Archi- 
episcopal  See  for  the  Bishop  of  London,  when  he  wrote  a  letter 
from  ISTew  York  to  that  dignitary,  saying:  "We  heartily  wish 
that,  by  the  good  providence  of  God,  your  Lordship  may  be 
appointed  Archbishop  of  this  New  World,  the  Continent  of 
America,  and  the  Islands  Adjacent,  and  invested  with  authority 
and  a  fullness  of  power  to  send  Bishops  among  us."t  On  four 
different  occasions,  between  1760  and  1764,  Governor  Arthur 
Dobbs,  of  JSTorth  Carolina,  wrote  to  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  and  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  begging  that  they 
use  their  influence  to  have  Bishops  sent  to  America,  with  all 
necessary  episcopal  powers,  though  the  writer  always  took  pains 
to  state  that  he  did  not  wish  these  Bishops  to  have  civil  powers 
in  ecclesiastical  courts,  etc.,  such  as  they  exercised  in  England. § 

*  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  V.,  p.  1136. 
t  Early  English  Colonies  in  America,  by  the  Bishop  of  Loudon,  p.  SI. 
%  Ihid,  p.  74. 

§  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  222,  971,  1026, 
1040. 


18  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

As  is  well  known,  all  of  these  efforts  came  to  nauglit,  and  no 
Bishops  could  he  secured  for  America  until  after  the  "War  of  the 
Revolution,  when  the  colonies  had  hecome  independent  States. 
As  there  were  no  Bishops  in  America,  the  opportunity  for  con- 
firmation was  limited  to  those  who  could  aiford  a  voyage  to 
Great  Britain.  Church  members  were  therefore  usually  ad- 
mitted to  the  Holy  Communion  under  the  rubrical  provision 
which  accords  that  privilege  to  those  who  are  "ready  and  de- 
sirous to  be  confirmed." 

In  1762  an  estimate  of  the  population  of  North  Carolina  was 
sent  to  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London  as  follows:  White  inhabi- 
tants, 36,000 ;  negroes,  10,000—46,000  in  all.  In  the  matter  of 
religious  affiliations  it  was  stated  that  the  province  contained 
18,000  adherents  of  the  Church  of  England;  9,000  Presbyterians 
and  Independents;  and  9,000  Quakers,  German  and  Dutch  of 
various  sects,  Jews,  Papists,  etc.*  As  these  statistics  fall  short, 
to  the  number  of  ten  thousand,  of  the  estimated  population, 
white  and  black,  probably  only  the  white  race  was  included  in 
the  religious  tables.  The  population  of  the  entire  province, 
given  as  46,000,  was  probably  inaccurate  and  under-estimated; 
for,  two  years  earlier.  Governor  Dobbs  had  sent  a  statement  to 
the  home  government  that  there  were  within  the  province  80,000 
white  people,  exclusive  of  negroes. t  When  the  first  official 
census  of  the  United  States  was  taken  in  1790,  North  Carolina 
had  an  aggregate  population  of  393,751 — whites,  288,204;  free 
negroes,  4,975;  slaves,  100,572.  The  heads  of  families  then 
numbered  a  little  upwards  of  50,000.  By  this  same  census  of 
1790  North  Carolina  had  a  much  greater  population  than  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  this,  too,  after  Tennessee  had  been 
severed  from  the  former. 

Not  only  did  missionaries  of  the  Church  of  England  labor 
for  the  white  race  but  for  Indians  and  negroes  as  well.    Mention 

*  Early  English  Colonies  in  America,  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London, 
p.  106. 

t  Colonial  Records  of  'North  Carolina.  Vol.  VI.,  p.  223. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  19 

has  already  been  made  of  the  baptism  of  Manteo,  on  Roanoke 
Island,  North  Carolina,  in  1587,  and  also  the  provision  by 
Locke's  Constitution,  concerning  the  christianization  of  slaves, 
in  1669,  "Writing  from  Chowan  Precinct  on  July  25,  1712,  the 
Reverend  Giles  Rainsford  said:  "On  June  22d,  I  preached  at 
-Mr.  Garrett's,  in  the  upper  end  of  Chowan,  but  had  such  num- 
bers that  I  was  obliged  to  go  under  a  large  mulberry  tree,  where 
most  of  the  people,  to  my  great  satisfaction,  seemed  very  devout 
the  whole  part  of  the  service  and  very  ready  in  their  responses, 
as  also  in  their  method  of  singing  praises  to  God.  Here  I  bap- 
tized two  girls  of  the  age  of  sixteen  and  one  boy  ten,  children 
of  one  Mr.  Adams ;  and,  by  much  importunity,  prevailed  on  Mr. 
Martin  to  let  me  baptize  three  of  his  negroes — two  women  and 
a  boy."  *  A  few  months  later  Mr,  Rainsford  wrote  that  on  one 
of  his  missionary  journeys  he  had  been  captured  by  the  Indians 
but  afterwards  released.  He  adds:  "On  account  of  my  late 
indisposition  I  have  been  able  only  to  catechize  children  and 
baptize  six  negroes."  We  may  add  that  this  indisposition  of 
Mr.  Rainsford  was  evidently  not  chronic ;  for,  about  the  end  of 
1714,  he  sums  up  a  year's  exploits  in  triumphant  strains  as  fol- 
lows :  "I  shall  only  add  that  I  have  brought  over  to  the  Church 
one  Patrick  Lawler,  on  Bennett's  Creek,  from  a  rank,  violent 
papist,  to  a  sound,  orthodox  believer.  I  have  baptized  upwards 
of  forty  negroes  in  this  and  the  neighboring  government  [Vir- 
ginia] in  the  past  year,  besides  (which  is  almost  an  impossi- 
bility here)  christened  three  children  of  one  Peirce,  a  Quaker, 
by  the  consent  of  the  mother,  though  seemingly  of  that  persu- 
asion. In  Nansemond  County,  bordering  on  Carolina,  I  have 
saved  upwards  of  two  hundred  souls  from  embracing  Quaker- 
ism, by  my  preaching  and  conference  among  them;  and  have 
made  the  ignorance  of  their  great  apostle,  Joseph  Gloster,  in  a 
dispute,  appear  to  whole  multitudes,  and  yet  their  prejudice  to 
our  establishment  is  such  that  I  fear  there  is  no  possibility  to 
win  upon  them.     I  found  myself  obliged,  in  conscience,  to  con- 

*  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  I.,  page  858. 


20  Bishops  of  Woktii  Cakolusta. 

tinue  for  some  time  with  these  people  by  reason  of  their  liike- 
warmness  and  indiff erency  to  our  own  constitution ;  but,  by  con- 
stant catechizing  and  teaching  they  are  becoming  tolerable  pro- 
ficients in  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel."  *  How  long  the  re- 
doubtable Mr.  Eainsford  continued  the  above  warfare  of  doc- 
trine we  are  not  informed;  nor  can  we  speak  in  detail  of  the 
numerous  other  missionaries  sent  to  Carolina  by  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  Of  the 
character  of  two  of  these  (Daniel  Brett  and  John  Urmstone) 
it  is  a  case  of  "least  said,  soonest  mended."  In  the  way  of  re- 
sults, probably  the  greatest  work  done  in  the  colonial  period 
was  by  the  Reverend  Clement  Hall,  a  native  of  England  who 
was  reared  in  JSTorth  Carolina.  He  went  back  to  England  for 
holy  orders  and  returned  to  ISTorth  Carolina  about  the  end  of  the 
year  1744  or  early  in  1745,  He  officiated  at  Edenton,  and  held 
services  in  the  court-house  before  the  completion  of  Saint  Paul's 
Church.  In  the  spring  of  1752  he  wrote  that,  though  sick  a 
part  of  the  time,  he  had,  during  his  ministry  of  seven  or  eight 
years,  traveled  14,000  miles,  delivered  675  sermons,  baptized 
about  5,783  white  children  and  243  negro  children — also  ad- 
ministering adult  baptism  to  57  white  persons  and  112  negroes, 
and  that  he  had  sometimes  administered  the  Holy  Communion 
to  as  many  as  300  persons  in  one  journey,  besides  visiting  the 
sick,  ete.t  Another  indefatigable  worker  for  the  cause  of  Christ 
was  the  Reverend  Alexander  Stewart.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Dublin  College,  and  held  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  that 
institution.  He  came  to  North  Carolina  in  1754  as  chaplain 
to  Governor  Arthur  Dobbs.  Later  he  was  placed  in  charge  of 
Saint  Thomas's  Church,  in  the  town^of  Bath;  but  his  labors 
extended  far  beyond  the  limits  of  that  parish.  He  gathered 
into  the  Church's  fold  white  people,  Indians  and  negroes,  in- 
fants and  adults.     Often,  when  it  was  desired  by  his  converts, 

*  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  II.,  p.  153. 
t  Il)i(l,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  1315. 


Bishops  of  North  Cakolina.  21 

lie  had  occasion  to  avail  himself  of  rubrical  authority  on  that 
point  and  perform  the  office  of  baptism  by  immersion,*  One 
of  his  parishioners  was  Nathaniel  Blount,  who  later  entered 
the  ministry  and  to  whom  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  here- 
after as  the  last  survivor  of  the  colonial  clergy  in  North 
Carolina.  ♦ 

In  a  memorial  from  the  Lord  Bishop  of  London  to  the  Lords 
of  the  Treasury,  in  1721,  it  was  said:  ''The  Bishop  of  London 
was  by  King  Charles  II  intrusted  with  providing  and  sending 
ministers  to  the  colonies  and  islands  in  America,  and  was  [later] 
directed  by  King  William  to  apply  to  the  Treasury  for  £20  to 
each  missionary  to  defray  his  passage."  Schoolmasters  of  the 
Church  of  England  were  aided  in  like  manner.  A  list  of  those 
who  drew  the  cost  of  their  passage  to  America,  between  1690 
and  1811,  has  been  compiled  by  Gerald  Fothergill,  and  was  pub- 
lished in  London  (1904)  under  the  title  A  List  of  Emigrant 
Ministers  to  America,  1690-1811.  This  valuable  little  work 
contains  the  names  of  quite  a  number  of  missionaries  to  North 
Carolina,  with  the  dates  when  they  received  their  passage  money, 
as  follows:  James  Adams,  1707;  John  Barnett,  1765;  John 
Blacknall,  1725 ;  John  Blair,  1703 ;  Peter  Blin,  1769  ;  Nathaniel 
Blount,  1773;  [Daniel]  Brett,  1700;  Robert  Briggs,  1768; 
Thomas  Burges,  1741;  Henry  John  Burges,  1768;  Nicholas 
Christian,  1773 ;  James  Cosgrove,  1766 ;  John  Cramp,  1767 ; 
Charles  Crupples  [Cupples],  1766;  Eobert  Cuming,  1748-1749; 
Theodoras  Swaine  Drage,  1769;  Daniel  Earle  [Earl],  1756; 
William  Panning,  1764;  Samuel  Fishe  [Fiske?],  1766;  Heze- 
kiah  Ford,  1776;  John  Garzia,  1724;  William  Gordon,  1707; 
Clement  Hall,  1744 ;  William  Hawson,  1756 ;  Eichard  Hewitt, 
1724;  Francis  Johnston,  1768;  Walter  Jones,  1724;  Edward 
Jones,  1769;  James  Macartney,  1768;  John  M'Dowell,  1753; 
William  Maury  (school-master),  1723;  George  Micklejohn, 
1766;  William  MiUer,  1765;  James  Moir,  1739;  Thomas  New- 
man, 1701 ;  Charles  Pettigrew,  1775 ;  John  Lott  Phillips,  1776 ; 

*  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  315-316. 


22  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Caeolina. 

William  Pow,  1748-1749;  Giles  Eainsford,  1716;  John  Eeid, 
1745;  John  Kowan,  1747;  Alexander  Stewart,  1753;  Charles 
Edward  Taylor,  1771;  Samuel  Thomas,  1702;  William  Toale, 

1762;    John    Urmstons     [Urmstone],    1722;    Whinston 

[Winston?],  1709;  John  Wills,  1769;  and  Charles  Woodmason, 
1766.  In  the  above  list,  Mr.  Eainsford  is  credited  to  Maryland, 
Mr.  Urmstone  to  Virginia,  Mr.  Garzia  to  Virginia,  and  Mr. 
Woodmason  to  South  Carolina,  though  they  are  all  known  to 
have  labored  (for  a  while  at  least)  in  North  Carolina;  on  the 
other  hand,  a  few  of  those  who  are  credited  to  l^orth  Carolina, 
in  this  list,  went  to  other  colonies.  Some  of  these  missionaries 
had  gone  from  North  Carolina  to  England  for  ordination,  and 
the  above-mentioned  amount  of  twenty  pounds  was  paid  to  cover 
the  cost  of  their  return  to  America.  Among  these  were  Henry 
John  Burges,  Francis  Johnston,  Peter  Blin,  Edward  Jones, 
Nathaniel  Blount  and  Charles  Pettigrew.  There  may  have 
been  others  also.  One  of  these,  Henry  John  Burges,  was  a  son 
of  another  clergyman,  the  Eeverend  Thomas  Burges,  who  was 
stationed  for  many  years  in  Edgecombe  County,  North  Caro- 
lina. In  the  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina  may  be  found 
a  great  deal  of  information  (letters,  etc.)  concerning  many  of 
the  above  missionaries  and  their  associates  in  the  ministry. 

Though  the  law  creating  them  has  been  lost,  it  is  known  that 
several  parishes  of  the  Church  of  England  were  erected  in  North 
Carolina  in  1701.  These,  so  far  as  can  be  learned,  wei'e :  Cur- 
rituck Parish  in  Currituck  Precinct,  Saint  John's  Parish  in 
Pasquotank  Precinct,  Berkeley  Parish  in  Perquimans  Precinct, 
Saint  Paul's  Parish  (now  of  the  town  of  Edenton)  in  Chowan 
Precinct,  and  Saint  Thomas's  Parish  (now  of  the  town  of  Bath) 
in  Pamlico  Precinct.*  During  ten  or  twelve  years  following 
several  new  parishes  were  added.  At  the  session  of  the  Colonial 
Assembly  of  1715  (the  first  legislature  of  whose  enactments  we 

*  This  precinct  should  not  be  confused  with  the  present  county  of 
Pamlico,  which  was  not  erected  till  1872.  Bath  is  now  in  Beaufort 
County. 


Bishops  of  N^ortii  Carolina.  23 

have  any  record),  the  ])rovince  was  divided  into  nine  parishes, 
by  chapter  VIII  of  its  laAvs,  as  follows:  Eastern  Parish  of 
Chowan  Precinct,  South-west  Parish  of  Chov/an  Precinct,  Per- 
quimans Parish,  South-west  Parish  of  Pasquotank  Precinct, 
North-east  Parish  of  Pasquotank  Pi'ecinct,  Currituck  Parish, 
Saint  Thomas's  Parish,  Hyde  Parish  and  Craven  Parish.  The 
names  of  those  Avho  were  vestryniGn  of  these  nine  parishes  in 
1715  are  still  preserved.*  All  earlier  church  records  in  North 
Carolina  are  lost,  with  the  exception  of  those  belonging  to  Saint 
Paul's  Church,  in  Edenton,  which  begin  in  1701.  Between  the 
year  1715  and  the  War  of  the  Revolution  numerous  other  colo- 
nial parishes  were  added  to  those  in  the  list  above  given. t 

The  Colonial  Assembly  of  North  Carolina  legally  recognized 
the  Unitas  Fratrum,  or  Moravian  Church,  and  passed  an  act, 
chapter  XIII  of  the  Laws  of  1755,  authorizing  the  erection  of 
the  parish  of  Dobbs  by  members  of  that  communion,  on  the 
tract  of  laud  called  Wachovia  (now  in  Forsyth  County)  which 
had  been  settled  by  these  Moravians.  A  few  years  earlier,  on 
May  12,  174-9,  the  British  Parliament  had  also  passed  an  act 
(22  George,  II,  chapter  XXX)  giving  legal  recognition  to  the 
Unitas  Fratrum,  and  referring  to  that  religious  body  as  "an 
ancient  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  which  has  been  counte- 
nanced and  relieved  by  the  Kings  of  England."  This  parlia- 
mentary action  was  taken  upon  a  unanimous  recommendation 
by  the  Bench  of  Bishops.  Later  on  in  the  present  volume  it 
will  be  seen  that  there  has  always  been  fraternization  between 
Bishops  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and  of  the  Moravian  Church 
in  l-Torth  Carolina.  Of  the  erection  of  the  above-mentioned 
parish  of  Dobbs  in  North  Carolina,  during  the  colonial  period, 
the  Moravian  historian,  Reverend  John  H.  Clewell,  in  his  His- 
tory of  Wachovia,  says :    "In  1755  the  legislature  was  petitioned 

*  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  208-209;  State 
Records  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  XXIII.,  pp.  6-8. 

t  For  list  of  Colonial  parishes,  see  "parishes,"  on  p.  709,  m  index. 
Vol.  XXV.  of  State  Records  of  North  Carolina.     In  same  index  the 
different  parishes  are  classed  under  their  own  heads. 
II 


24  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

to  constitute  Wachovia  a  separate  parish.  This  petition  was 
granted.  Benzien  and  Stauber  were  the  representatives  from 
Wachovia  to  present  the  petition.  Jacob  and  Herman  Lash 
waited  on  the  Governor  in  New  Bern,  in  December,  and  received 
official  notice  that  the  bill  was  a  law.  The  representatives  of 
the  Bethabara  congregation  were  graciously  received  by  Gov- 
ernor Dobbs.  In  April,  1756,  the  Act  of  Assembly  was  com- 
municated to  the  congregation  by  Ranch  and  Angel.  By  this 
act  twenty  men  were  created  freeholders,  and  each  man  received 
fifty  acres  of  land.*  In  May,  these  twenty  men  were  summoned 
to  Salisbury  to  be  invested  with  their  new  powers."  Alluding 
to  the  experiences  of  this  party  after  reaching  Salisbury  (the 
county-seat  of  Rowan,  in  which  Dobbs  Parish  was  then  situ- 
ated), Doctor  Clewell  gives  a  translation  of  the  original  account 
in  the  Moravian  records,  which  says :  "They  had  a  short  dis- 
cussion and  all  went  to  the  court-house  to  elect  vestrymen.  A 
herald  took  their  names,  and  then  made  known  to  them  their 
duties.  The  vote  of  the  freeholders  was  taken,  and  the  names 
of  the  vestrymen  made  known  to  the  public.  When  this  was 
done  the  Chief  Justice  announced  to  the  vestrymen  that  they 
would  have  to  appear  at  court  and  select  two  wardens.  The 
sheriff  said  that,  as  it  would  be  a  task  for  so  many  to  travel  to 
Salisbury,  he  would  himself  come  to  Bethabara  to  qualify  them." 
They  were  qualified  accordingly,  and  then  proceeded  to  elect  as 
church  wardens  two  of  their  number,  Messrs.  Lash  and  Wutke. 
In  closing  this  account,  the  old  record  says :  "The  organization 
was  now  complete  according  to  the  wish  of  our  hearts.  We 
thanked  the  Lord  that  it  was  so." 

Saint  Thomas's  Church  in  the  old  town  of  Bath,  Beaufort 
County,  and  Saint  Paul's  Church  in  Edenton,  Chowan  County, 
are  the  only  brick  buildings  still  used  in  the  State  of  North 
Carolina  which  were  erected  by  congregations  of  the  Church  of 

*  The  Moravian  lands  were  owned  by  the  community  as  a  whole 
and  there  were  no  individual  free-holders.  Hence  it  was  necessary  to 
issue  these  grants. — M.  DeL.  H. 


Bishops  of  N^okth  Carolina.  25 

England  prior  to  the  Revolution.  As  already  mentioned,  these 
parishes  were  laid  out  in  1701,  many  years  before  the  churches 
were  built.  Some  miles  below  Wilmington,  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River,  is  the  site  of  the  old  town  of  Brunswick  (of  which 
scarcely  a  vestige  now  remains),  and  there  the  brick  walls  of 
Saint  Philip's  Church  are  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation, 
but  all  of  the  woodwork,  roof  included,  has  rotted  away.  As 
it  may  interest  the  reader,  we  shall  add  a  few  words  concerning 
these  ancient  structures. 

The  erection  of  Saint  Thomas's  Church,  in  Bath,  was  begun 
about  1734,  though  it  was  not  completed  until  some  years  after 
that  date.  In  1841,  or  thereabouts,  the  entire  roof  and  gable 
ends  of  this  building  were  blown  off  by  a  heavy  windstorm,  but 
the  damage  was  repaired  through  the  liberality  of  Joseph  Bon- 
ner, a  gentleman  of  that  vicinity  whose  family  had  long  been 
identified  with  the  Church  in  jSTorth  Carolina,  one  of  his  ances- 
tors. Captain  Henry  Bonner,  having  been  a  vestryman  in 
Chowan  Precinct  as  early  as  1715.  About  the  year  1868  the 
woodwork  of  the  structure  fell  into  decay,  and  this  was  replaced 
by  William  Walling,  an  Englishman  who  had  settled  in  I^orth 
Carolina,  and  wished  to  show  his  veneration  for  an  ancient 
edifice  by  which  his  mother  country  and  adopted  home  were  so 
closely  connected.  All  of  the  old  records  of  this  parish  have 
been  lost.  Underneath  the  building,  and  also  around  about  it, 
are  many  graves,  but  these,  for  the  most  part,  are  unmarked. 
The  outside  dimensions,  etc.,  of  this  church  (as  given  by  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Drane  in  his  monograph  included  in  Colonial 
Churches  in  the  Original  Colony  of  Virginia)  are  as  follows : 
Nave  length,  51  feet;  nave  width,  31  feet;  nave  height,  sides, 
14  feet ;  thickness  of  bricks,  3  by  4^/^  by  9  inches ;  clay  tiles  in 
floor,  2  by  8  by  8  inches.  Saint  Thomas's  Church  was  the  chief 
scene  of  the  labors  of  the  great  colonial  missionary,  Reverend 
Alexander  Stewart,  to  whose  career  we  have  already  referred. 

Saint  Paul's  Church,  in  Edenton,  was  begun  in  1736,  re- 
placing a  wooden  building  of  earlier  date.     Like  the  church  in 


26  Bishops  of  I^orth  Carolina. 

Bath,  it  remained  unfinished  for  quite  a  while  after  its  construc- 
tion was  commenced.  Among  the  contributors  towards  its  erec- 
tion were  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina,  who  gave  two  hun- 
dred pounds  sterling.  This  parish  has  had  a  longer  unbroken 
existence  than  any  other  in  the  State,  its  history  long  antedating 
the  erection  of  the  present  building.  Its  first  vestrymen — who 
were  also  the  first  ever  appointed  in  the  colony — were  His  Ex- 
cellency Henderson  Walker,  Governor;  the  Honorable  Thomas 
Pollock,  President  of  the  Provincial  Council,  and  later  Governor 
pro  tempore;  William  Dukinfield,  a  Justice  of  the  General 
Court  and  a  brother  of  Sir  Kobert  Dukinfield,  Baronet ;  Nicho- 
las Crisp ;  Edward  Smithwick,  a  member  of  the  Assembly  of  the 
Province;  John  Blount,  a  Justice  of  the  General  Court;  James 
Long;  ISTathaniel  Chevin,  member  of  the  Provincial  Council; 
William  Benbury;  Colonel  William  Wilkinson,  an  eminent  at- 
torney; Captain  Thomas  Leuten,  and  Captain  Thomas  Blount. 
These  vestrymen  (who  were  all  colonists  of  the  first  consequence 
in  their  day  and  generation)  effected  an  organization  on  Decem- 
ber 15,  1701,  by  electing  Colonel  Wilkinson  and  Captain  Leuten 
church  wardens,  and  Mr.  Chevin  clerk  of  the  vestry.  Mr. 
Smithwick  gave  an  acre  of  land  on  which  to  erect  a  house  of 
worship,  and  the  vestry  at  once  contracted  for  such  a  structure, 
the  same  to  be  of  wood  and  twenty-five  feet  in  length.  On  De- 
cember 15,  1702,  exactly  one  year  after  the  first  meeting  of  the 
vestry,  we  find  recorded  in  their  proceedings  the  fact  that  they 
viewed  the  chapel  and  accepted  the  same  from  the  contractor. 
It  was  about  thirty-five  years  later  that  this  chapel  was  replaced 
by  the  substantial  brick  church  (on  a  different  site)  which  is 
now  used  by  the  congregation  in  Edenton.  In  the  monograph 
already  quoted.  Doctor  Drane  gives  the  following  outside  meas- 
urements, with  description  of  interior,  of  Saint  Paul's  Church: 
nave  length,  60  feet ;  nave  width,  40  feet  and  3  inches ;  nave 
height,  sides,  20  feet;  dimensions  of  bricks,  2^/2  by  4  by  8V2 
inches.  Saint  Paul's  floor  was  formerly  tiled,  and  "intra-mural" 
burials  were  allowed.     The  floor  is  now  of  wood.     The  silver 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  27 

couimunion  service,  which  has  been  used  in  Saint  Paul's  Church 
for  generations  past,  was  the  gift  of  an  eminent  colonial  Church- 
man and  statesman.  Both  the  paten  and  chalice  are  inscribed 
as  follows :  "The  Gift  of  Colonell  Edward  Moseley  for  ye  use 
of  xe  Church  in  Edenton  in  the  year  1725."  In  Saint  Paul's 
is  also  a  larger  chalice  of  silver  which  was  presented  by  a  colon- 
ial missionary,  the  Reverend  John  Garzia,  of  North  Carolina, 
it  being  inscribed  as  follows :  "D.  D.  Johannes  Garzia,  Eccle- 
siae  Anglicanae  Presbyter/'  So  far  as  the  present  writer  knows, 
these  are  the  only  communion  vessels  of  the  colonial  period  now 
used  in  North  Carolina,  except  one  in  the  parish  of  Christ 
Church,  New  Bern.  Saint  Paul's  Church,  in  Edenton,  was 
the  place  of  worship  of  numerous  Colonial  Governors,  Chief 
Justices  and  other  high  dignitaries,  many  of  whom  are  now  at 
rest  within  its  burial  ground,  Avhich  is  historically  one  of  the 
most  interesting  places  in  the  Southern  States.  The  two  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  organization  of  Saint  Paul's  Parish 
fell  on  December  15,  1901,  but  the  vestry  decided  to  hold  the 
celebration  of  that  event  somewhat  earlier,  during  the  session 
of  the  Diocesan  Council  of  East  Carolina,  which  convened  that 
year  in  Edenton.  The  celebration  was  accordingly  held.  May 
22-24,  1901,  and  the  proceedings  on  that  occasion  were  after- 
wards printed,  under  the  editorial  supervision  of  Doctor  Drane, 
in  a  pamphlet  entitled  The  Religious  and  Historic  Commemo- 
ration of  the  Two  Hundred  Years  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Edeii- 
ton.  North  Carolina. 

Saint  Philip's  Church,  on  the  Cape  Fear  River,  in  Brunswick 
County,  is  now  in  a  state  of  ruin.  Its  walls,  and  some  grave- 
stones not  far  distant,  are  about  all  that  is  now  left  to  mark  the 
site  of  the  old  borough  of  Brunswick,  which  was  one  of  North 
Carolina's  most  important  towns  in  colonial  days.  Even  before 
this  parish  was  established  the  people  of  that  vicinity  had  a 
house  of  worship  and  the  advantages  of  church  services,  con- 
ducted by  the  Reverend  Richard  Marsden.  In  a  letter  Avritten 
from  :hat  place  in  February,  1736,  James  Murray,  a  member 


28  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

of  the  Council  under  Governor  Gabriel  Johnston,  said:  "YV^e 
have  j^  best  minister  that  I  have  heard  in  America  to  preach 
and  read  prayers  to  us  every  2d  or  3d  Sunday  at  least ;  and,  on 
a  cold  day,  a  good  fire  in  y^  church  to  sit  by."  It  was  in  1741, 
a  few  years  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  that  Saint  Philip's 
Parish  was  laid  out,  and  the  brick  church  (whose  walls  are  still 
intact)  was  not  begun  until  about  1754.  "We  are  building  a 
very  large  brick  church,  which  is  nearly  done,"  wrote  the  vestry 
in  1760.  It  was  finished  a  few  years  later,  while  Governor  Wil- 
liam Tryon  resided  at  Brunswick,  and  that  gentleman  made  a 
personal  contribution  of  forty  guineas  to  aid  the  work.  The 
walls  of  this  church  are  seventy-six  feet  and  six  inches  long, 
fifty-three  feet  and  three  inches  wide,  and  twenty-four  feet  and 
four  inches  in  height.  Saint  Philip's  Church  was  probably 
abandoned  about  the  time  of  the  Eevolution.  The  parish  has 
never  appeared  on  the  rolls  of  the  Conventions  of  the  Church 
in  ISTorth  Carolina  since  the  foundation  of  the  Diocese  in  1817. 
The  above  three  churches — Saint  Thomas's  in  Bath,  Saint 
Paul's  in  Edenton,  and  Saint  Philip's  on  the  site  of  old  Bruns- 
wick— are  the  only  three  brick  church  buildings  of  the  colonial 
era  now  standing  in  North  Carolina.  They  are  all  in  what  is 
now  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina.  There  are  other  colonial 
parishes  still  existing  in  the  State,  but  the  original  buildings 
have  in  all  instances  been  replaced  by  more  modern  ones.  One 
of  these,  Christ  Church,  at  ISTew  Bern,  still  owns  a  silver  com- 
munion service.  Holy  Bible  and  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which 
came  from  England  prior  to  the  Revolution.  The  communion 
service  is  probably  the  same  which  King  George  presented  to  the 
"Royal  Chapel"  (Saint  Philip's  Church)  at  Brunswick,  and  was 
doubtless  brought  to  New  Bern  when  that  place  became  the 
capital,  thus  making  Christ  Church  the  "Royal  Chapel."  It  is 
sterling  silver  and  consists  of  two  large  flagons,  a  chalice,  paten 
and  alms  basin,  these  bearing  the  Royal  arms  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  King's  initial  letters,  G.  R.  {Georgius  Rex).  The  Bible 
and  Book  of  Common  Prayer  are  at  present  deposited  in  the 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  29 

Hall  of  History  in  Raleigh.  The  Bible  was  printed  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford  by  John  Baskett,  'Trinter  to  the  King's  Most 
Excellent  Majesty,"  in  1716,  while  the  Prayer  Book  came  from 
the  presses  of  Joseph  Bentham,  of  Cambridge,  printer  to  the 
University,  in  1752. 

Of  all  the  zealous  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
]^orth  Carolina  about  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  none  ranked 
higher  than  the  Reverend  Charles  Pettigrew,  who  built  Petti- 
grew's  Chapel  at  his  own  expense  and  for  many  years  ministered 
there,  as  well  as  in  Edenton  and  elsewhere  throughout  the  prov- 
ince. He  lived  in  a  locality  where  the  Society  of  Friends  had 
a  strong  foothold;  and,  after  the  Revolution,  he  said:  "Before 
the  dissolution  of  the  Establishment  [of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land], I  absolutely  forbade  anything  to  be  collected  from  the 
Quakers  for  me,  as  I  would  not  receive  it.  Neither  have  I 
taken  anything  for  visiting  the  sick  or  baptizing  during  .he 
course  of  my  ministry."  Mr.  Pettigrew  was  born  in  Pf-.nusyl- 
vania  on  March  20,  1743.  He  was  educated  in  North  Carolina. 
In  early  life  he  was  a  school-teacher ;  but,  desiring  to  enter  the 
ministry,  he  went  to  England  in  the  winter  of  1774-'75,  and  was 
duly  ordained  by  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Rochester.  He 
returned  to  America  on  the  last  ship  which  sailed  before  the 
Revolution.  After  the  war  he  and  other  clergymen  vainly  en- 
deavored to  form  a  Diocese  in  North  Carolina;  and  meetings, 
with  this  end  in  view,  were  held  in  June,  1790;  November,  1790; 
October,  1791 ;  November,  1793,  and  May,  1794.*  At  the  time 
last  named,  Mr.  Pettigrew  was  elected  Bishop  of  North  Caro- 
lina, but  he  died  (April  8,  1807)  without  being  consecrated,  and 
it  was  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the  Church 
had  succeeded  in  its  efforts  to  establish  a  diocese  presided  over 
by  a  Bishop  of  its  own.    We  do  not  include  a  separate  biography 

*  For  reprints  of  Journals   of  these  early   Conventions,   etc.,   see 
volume  entitled  Church  History  in  North  Carolina. 


30  Bishops  of  ISTobtk  Cakolina. 

of  Mr.  Pettigrew  in  this  work,  as  lie  never  was  inducted  into 
tlie  office  of  Bisliop  by  consecration.* 

Among  the  workers  in  the  earlier  efforts  to  set  up  a  diocese 
in  ]!^orth  Carolina  were  several  clergymen  who  had  borne  an 
active  part  in  the  operations  of  the  American  army  during  the 
War  for  Independence.  At  the  beginning  of  hostilties,  the  Rev- 
erend Adam  Boyd  had  fought  as  a  line  officer,  had  entered  the 
ministry  while  the  war  was  in  progress  (first  taking  Presby- 
terian orders),  and  had  risen  to  the  rank  of  Brigade  Chaplain; 
the  Beverend  Solomon  Hailing  had  been  an  efficient  surgeon 
in  the  patriot  army  before  entering  the  ministry;  and  the  Rev- 
erend Robert  Johnston  Miller  had  enlisted  under  the  American 
standard  when  eighteen  years  old,  had  encountered  the  dangers 
of  the  field  at  Long  Island,  Brandywine  and  White  Plains,  re- 
ceiving a  severe  wound  in  the  battle  first  named — also  sharing 
the  sufferings  at  Valley  Forge  and  the  triumph  at  Yorktown. 
ISTo  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England  was  ever  an  active 
Loyalist  in  I^orth  Carolina.  Old  Parson  Micklejohn  sympa- 
thized with  the  royal  cause,  and  was  taken  into  custody  and 
paroled  in  the  early  stages  of  the  war,  but  even  he  eventually 
swore  allegiance  to  the  Whig  government  and  died  an  American 
citizen.  Another  loyalist  in  his  sympathies  (vhough  he  took 
no  part  against  the  American  cause)  was  the  Reverend  James 
Reed,  of  ISTew  Bern. 

The  Reverend  Charles  Edward  Taylor,  a  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  was  one  of  the  chaplains  who  officiated  in 
the  ISTorth  Carolina  Provincial  Congress,  at  Hillsborough  in 
August,  1775. 

On  April  8,  1776,  the  Provincial  Congress  of  ISTorth  Carolina, 
at  Halifax,  elected  as  its  chaplain  the  Reverend  Hezekiah  Ford, 
a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England.  This  gentleman  later 
was  commissioned  Chaplain  of  the  Fifth  ISTorth  Carolina  Conti- 

*  A  sketch  of  the  life  of  Bishop-elect  Fettigrew,  written  by  me,  will 
be  fouud  in  the  Biographical  History  of  North  Carolina,  Vol.  VI., 
p.  39G.— M.  Del.  H. 


Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina.  31 

nontal  Regiment,  April  20,  1777,  and  marched  northward  in  the 
summer  of  thai  year.  He  was  Special  Judge  Advocate  in  u 
court-martial  at  Trenton,  ISTcav  Jersey,  on  July  22,  1777,  and 
was  honorably  discharged  a  few  months  later,  in  September, 
just  prior  to  the  time  when  his  regimental  and  brigade  com- 
manders. Colonel  Edward  Buncombe  and  General  Francis  iSTash, 
were  mortally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Germantown. 

Another  Church  of  England  clergyman  who  actively  sided 
with  the  Americans  was  the  Reverend  Charles  Cupples.  In  the 
Revolutionary  Assembly  at  Smithfield,  in  Johnston  County,  he 
acted  as  chaplain,  being  elected  to  that  post  on  May  3,  1779, 
and  serving  until  excused  from  further  attendance  by  a  joint 
resolution  of  the  two  houses.  About  a  year  later,  on  April  17, 
1780,  he  was  also  chaplain  of  the  General  Assembly  which  con- 
vened at  ISTew  Bern,  l^ot  only  were  most  of  the  clergymen 
Americans  of  proved  patriotism,  but  laymen  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  iN^orth  Carolina  were  the  foremost  leaders  of  the 
revolt  against  King  George.  The  same  was  true  as  to  laymen 
in  other  States  also.  In  his  work,  entitled  The  Church  for 
Americans,  Bishop  Brown,  of  Arkansas,  says:  "Two-thirds  of 
the  first  Continental  Congress,  held  at  Philadelphia,  A.  D.  1774, 
wore  churchmen.  The  same  proportion  obtained  in  the  Con- 
gress which  declared  our  independence.  Of  the  iifty-five  actual 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  thirty-five  were 
Episcopalians;  twelve  Gongregationalists ;  four  Presbyterians; 
three  Quakers;  one  was  a  Baptist  and  one  a  Roman  Catholic. 
*  :.■:  *  Q£  ^]^g  twelve  generals  appointed  by  Washington  early 
in  the  war,  eight  vv^ere  his  fellow  Episcopalians."  * 

The  above  is  a  fairly  good  shoveing  of  the  virtue  of  patriotism 
for  one  Church — and  especially  so  for  one  which  has  sometimes 
been  charged  with  being  so  much  wedded  to  English  ideals  and 
institutions  as  to  render  itself  un-American. 

*  The  Church  for  Americans,  by  the  Right  Reverend  William  Mont- 
gomery Brown  (edition  of  1899),  pp.  378-379. 


32  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

Of  course  a  communion  with  so  numerous  a  membership  as 
was  possessed  by  the  Church  of  England  in  the  thirteen  colonies 
was  not  without  active  partisans  on  both  sides  in  the  Kevolu- 
tion,  and  one  Loyalist  who  rose  to  eminence  in  the  Church  after 
the  war  was  the  Right  Reverend  Samuel  Seabury,  Bishop  of 
Connecticut  and  first  in  the  succession  of  the  American  Episco- 
pate. At  one  time  he  had  been  Chaplain  of  "the  King's  Ameri- 
can Regiment,"  commanded  by  Colonel  Edmund  Fanning,  form- 
erly of  !N"orth  Carolina.  Doctor  Seabury  was  elected  Bishop  of 
Connecticut  by  the  clergy  of  that  State  on  March  25,  1783,  and 
was  directed  to  proceed  to  England  for  the  purpose  of  seeking 
consecration;  in  the  event  that  his  mission  to  England  should 
be  unsuccessful,  he  was  instructed  to  go  to  Scotland  and  ask  the 
successors  of  the  l^on-juring  Bishops  in  that  country  to  perform 
the^  rite.  These  Bishops  in  Scotland  were  of  the  same  line  of 
succession  as  were  the  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  England;  but 
the  Scotch  branch  of  the  Church  had  no  standing  under  the 
civil  law  because  the  Bishops,  through  whom  its  line  came,  had 
refused  to  swear  allegiance  to  William  and  Mary  after  the  Eng- 
lish Revolution  of  1688.  For  this  reason  it  was  also  sometimes 
called  the  Jacobite  Church.  "When  Doctor  Seabury  appeared 
in  England,  the  Bishops  of  the  English  Church  were  willing 
to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  their  fellow-churchmen  in  America, 
and  would  have  done  so  but  for  an  act  of  Parliament  which  re- 
quired that  a  candidate  for  consecration  to  a  Bishopric  should 
swear  allegiance  to  the  King.  Of  course  such  an  oath  was  out 
of  the  question  with  a  citizen  of  an  independent  American  State, 
even  though  this  citizen  may  once  have  been  a  Loyalist ;  so 
Doctor  Seabury  went  to  Scotland,  where  he  was  made  a  Bishop 
at  Aberdeen  on  ISTovember  14,  1784,  by  Bishops  Kilgour,  Petrie 
and  Skinner,  of  the  above-mentioned  Church  of  Scotland. 
Shortly  after  Bishop  Seabury  returned  to  his  Diocese  of  Connec- 
ticut, Parliament  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  consecration  of 
foreign  Bishops  without  requiring  of  them  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
This  left  the  way  open  for  other  Americans  who  had  been 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  33 

elected  to  Bishoprics;  so  the  Reverend  William  White,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  Reverend  Samuel  Provoost,  of  New  York,  then 
crossed  the  seas  to  England,  and  in  the  Chapel  of  Lambeth 
Palace,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1787,  were  duly  consecrated  by 
the  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York,  the  Bishop  of  Peter- 
borough, and  the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells.  A  few  years  later, 
on  September  19,  1790,  in  the  same  chapel  at  Lambeth,  the  Rev- 
erend James  Madison  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Virginia  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  the 
Bishop  of  Rochester.  The  first  consecration  in  America,  and 
the  only  one  at  which  Bishop  Seabury  ever  officiated,  was  when 
the  Reverend  Thomas  John  Claggett  was  raised  to  the  Episco- 
pate as  Bishop  of  Maryland,  by  Bishops  Seabury,  White,  Pro- 
voost, and  Madison,  on  September  17,  1792.  Thus  the  two 
temporarily  divided  lines  of  apostolic  succession — the  English 
through  White,  Provoost,  and  Madison,  and  the  Scotch  through 
Seabury — were  united  in  forming  the  present  Episcopate  of  the 
United  States,  for  every  Bishop  in  the  American  Church  of 
to-day  traces  his  Episcopal  descent  from  Bishop  Claggett,  as 
well  as  from  the  other  Bishops  above  enumerated.  White  was 
one  of  the  consecrators  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft,  on  May  22,  1823 ; 
he  also  aided  in  consecrating  Bishop  Ives,  September  22,  1831. 
Some  years  later,  on  October  17,  1853,  visiting  English  Bishops 
were  among  the  consecrators  of  Bishop  Atkinson.  So  the  Epis- 
copate in  North  Carolina  has  a  very  short  descent  from,  and 
close  relationship  with,  the  Mother  Church  of  Old  England. 


+ 


Bishop   Ravenscroft. 


JOHN  STAKK  KAVENSCROFT, 

First  Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 

On  the  roll  of  eminent  prelates  whose  labors  have  gone  far 
toward  upbuilding  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  few  names 
stand  out  in  bolder  relief  than  that  of  the  Right  Reverend  John 
Stark  Ravenscroft,  S.  T.  D.,  first  Bishop  of  Worth  Carolina 
and  twentieth  in  the  succession  of  the  American  Episcopate.  In 
his  day  and  generation  he  was  a  strong  power  for  promoting  the 
spread  of  Christianity  throughout  North  Carolina.  Nor  were 
his  achievements  confined  to  one  diocese,  for  under  his  influence 
were  raised  up  at  least  five  future  Bishops  and  innumerable 
other  clergy  whose  evangelical  labors  bore  rich  fruitage  in  those 
earlier  times,  and  are  even  now  felt  throughout  countless  locali- 
ties in  the  Southern  and  "Western  States  of  the  American  Union, 
as  well  as  elsewhere.  Hence  in  many  quarters,  where  the  name 
of  this  great  Bishop  is  comparatively  unknown,  his  labors  are 
still  indirectly  having  their  effect,  and  will  so  continue  till  the 
end  of  time.  How  marvelously  potent,  for  good  or  evil,  can  the 
influence  of  one  man  be  made  upon  future  generations ! 

To  gather  up  the  remnants  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
North  Carolina  and  transmit  its  doctrines  unimpaired  to  future 
times  was  the  great  work  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft's  life — a  life  of 
heroic  self-sacrifices  and  toilsome  privations  throughout  his  en- 
tire ministry,  and  one  which  is  well  worthy  of  study  by  those 
who  admire  the  virtues  he  exemplified.  He  was  born  on  the 
17th  day  of  May,  1772,  in  Prince  George  County,  Virginia,  and 
belonged  to  a  family  of  high  social  station  and  some  wealth.  He 
himself  states  (in  an  unfinished  autobiography)  that  all  of  his 
progenitors  as  far  back  as  he  could  trace,  with  the  exception  of 
his  maternal  grandfather,  were  natives  of  Virginia.  In  his 
work  on  Old  Churches  and  Families  in  Virginia,  Bishop  Meade 
alludes  to  the  Ravenscrofts  as  "an  ancient  Virginia  family,  to 
be  found  about  Williamsburg  and  Petersburg,  according  to  the 


38  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

records  of  tlie  House  of  Burgesses  aud  the  vestry-books." 
Though  Bishop  Glreen,  of  Mississippi  (who  prepared  a  brief 
memoir  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  in  1870*),  believed  that  the 
name  Ravenscroft  was  of  Germanic  origin — the  contraction  of  a 
German  surname,  Ravenscrofdt — he  was  undoubtedly  in  error. 
The  name  Ravenscroft,  just  as  the  Bishop  wrote  it,  is  not  un- 
common in  Great  Britain,  being  found  in  the  records  of  Flint- 
shire, Cheshire,  Lancashire  and  Sussex. 

Various  persons  of  the  name  of  Ravenscroft  lived  in  ISTew 
England  and  Virginia  at  a  very  early  period.  The  ancestors  of 
Bishop  Ravenscroft  were  residents  of  the  Old  Dominion  for 
about  three-quarters  of  a  century  prior  to  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution, but  Massachusetts  was  their  first  home  in  America. 
Samuel  Ravenscroft  came  to  Boston  in  1679,  and  almost  imme- 
diately after  his  arrival  became  a  member  of  the  artillery  com- 
pany, later  holding  a  commission  as  Captain  in  the  troops  of 
the  colony.  He  married  Dionysia  Savage,  a  daughter  of  Major 
Thomas  Savage,  and  was  the  father  of  five  children,  viz.,  Diony- 
sia, born  April  12,  1681 ;  Samuel,  born  April  12,  1682 ;  George, 
born  March  20,  1683;  Sarah,  born  November  20,  1686;  and 
Thomas,  born  June  29,  1688. 

There  being  no  house  of  worship  of  the  Church  of  England 
in  his  new  home,  Captaiii  Samuel  Ravenscroft  attended  Con- 
gregational services  for  a  Avhile  in  the  Old  South  Meeting  House. 
On  June  15,  1686,  he  was  one  of  eleven  persons  who  took  steps 
to  found  King's  Chapel,  for  services  of  the  Church  of  England, 
and  was  later  one  of  its  Wardens.  He  was  held  in  high  favor 
by  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  the  Royal  Governor,  who  was  a  ruler 
greatly  hated  by  the  Puritans.  In  the  Spring  of  1689,  John 
Winslow,  a  young  ISTew  Englander,  returned  from  a  voyage  to 
the  Island  of  ISTevis,  bringing  with  him  the  news  that  William  of 
Orange  had  taken  possession  of  the  throne  of  Great  Britain  in 
the  preceding  year.  Thereupon  the  inhabitants  of  Massachu- 
setts rose  up  on  April  18tli  and  imprisoned  Andros,  Avith  many 

■^American  Church  Rcvietv,  January,  1871,  Vol.  XXII..  p.  52G. 


BisHors  OF  North  Carolina.  39 

of  his  adherents,  includiug  Captain  Ravenscroft.  It  would  seem, 
however,  that  Ravenscroft  was  not  a  very  pronounced  Jacobite; 
for,  in  his  capacity  as  church-warden,  he  afterwards  united  in  a 
loyal  address  to  King  William.  Like  men  of  nearly  all  religions 
in  that  day,  however,  the  New  Englanders  were  not  disposed  to 
view  with  friendliness  those  who  differed  with  them  in  ecclesias- 
tical matters;  so  Captain  Ravenscroft  decided  to  seek  a  new 
home.  "Ravenscroft  talks  of  removing  to  Virginia,"  wrote  Jus- 
tice Francis  Foxcroft,  of  Boston,  in  1691.*  Probably  the  Cap- 
tain was  strengthened  in  this  desire  by  the  knowledge  that  his 
old  friend  Andros  was  about  to  be  entrusted  with  the  governor- 
ship of  Virginia,  to  which  office  he  was  appointed  in  1692. 

Thomas  Ravenscroft  (the  youngest  son  of  Samuel)  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Wilmington  Parish,  in  James  City  County,  Virginia,  at 
a  later  period.  As  already  stated,  he  was  born  in  Boston  on 
June  29,  1688.  After  his  arrival  in  Virginia,  he  became  a 
Colonel  of  the  militia  forces  of  that  province.  He  was  also  High 
Sheriff  of  James  City  County  in  1722.  In  the  year  following, 
he  purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  Prince  George  County,  called 
Maycock's  Plantation — sometimes  written  Maycox — and  after- 
wards removed  his  family  to  that  locality.  This  estate  took  its 
name  from  Captain  Samuel  Maycock,  one  of  its  former  owners, 
who  had  been  killed  by  the  Indians  in  1622.  An  account  of  the 
place  will  be  found  in  The  Cradle  of  the  Republic,  by  Doctor 
Lyon  G.  Tyler. 

The  above-mentioned  Colonel  Thomas  Ravenscroft  was  at  one 
time  a  representative  in  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  and 
died  about  the  end  of  the  year  1735.  He  had  a  son,  John,  and 
this  young  man  he  sent  on  a  visit  to  Nevv^  England  early  in 
1735.  With  him  young  Ravenscroft  carried  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction (February  20,  1735)  from  his  friend  and  neighbor, 
Colonel  William  Byrd,  of  Westover,  to  Chief  Justice  Lynde,  in 

*  'Nctc  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  Vol.  XXXIII., 
p.  410. 


40  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  which  the  writer  said:  "He  is  the  son 
of  one  of  your  own  countrymen,  Mr.  Ravenscroft,  who,  having 
some  relatives  there,  has  sent  his  son  to  make  them  a  visit."* 
After  returning  to  his  home  in  Virginia,  John  Ravenscroft  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Stark.t  In  1738  he  was  a  Magistrate  in  Prince 
George  County.  He  left  a  son,  also  named  John,  who  became  a 
physician.  The  descent  of  John  Ravenscroft,  the  younger 
(father  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft),  from  Colonel  Thomas  Ravens- 
croft is  shown  by  a  deed,  recorded  in  Brunswick  County,  Vir- 
ginia, from  "John  Ravenscroft,  late  of  the  town  of  Petersburg, 
son  and  heir  of  John  Ravenscroft,  late  of  Prince  George  County, 
deceased,"  for  a  tract  of  land,  therein  described,  which  had  been 
"patented  26  December,  1734,  by  Thomas  Ravenscroft,  grand- 
father of  the  said  John." 

Doctor  John  Ravenscroft  (mentioned  above  as  the  father  of 
Bishop  Ravenscroft)  lived  on  Maycock's  Plantation,  his  pater- 
nal estate,  and  there  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  for  a  short 
while.  Having  determined  to  become  a  physician,  he  studied 
medicine  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  graduated  there 
in  1770,  his  thesis  (on  the  subject  of  jaundice)  being  entitled 
De  Ictera.  Early  in  1771,  immediately  after  returning  to  his 
home  in  Virginia,  he  married  his  cousin,  Lillias  Miller.t     He 

*  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography.  Vol.  IX.,  p.  242. 

t  After  the  death  of  her  first  husband,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Ravenscroft 
(born  Stark)  married  George  McMurdo,  who  died  in  Galloway,  Scot- 
land, iu  1798.  She  left  several  children  by  her  second  husband,  and 
one  or  more  settled  in  Virginia,  among  these  being  Charles  J.  Mc- 
Murdo. The  last  named  had  a  daughter  (wife  of  Patrick  Gibson) 
whose  son,  the  Reverend  Churchill  J.  Gibson,  married  a  sister  of 
Bishop  Atkinson,  and  was  father  of  the  Right  Reverend  Robert  Atkin- 
son Gibson,  Bishop  of  Virginia. 

t  As  to  degree  of  blood  relationship  between  Doctor  John  Ravens- 
croft and  his  wife,  Lillias  Miller,  he  was  her  first  cousin  once  removed. 
Colonel  Robert  Boiling  (among  other  children)  had  two  daughters: 
Mary  Boiling,  who  married  William  Stark;  and  Jane  Boiling,  who 
married  Hugh  Miller.  Rebecca  Stark,  daughter  of  William  Stark  and 
his  wife,  Mary  Boiling,  married  John  Ravenscroft  and  was  mother  of 
Doctor  John  Ravenscroft,  the  Bishop's  father.  Lillias  Miller,  wife  of 
Doctor  Ravenscroft.  was  a  daughter  of  Hugh  Miller  and  his  wife,  the 
aforementioned  Jane  Boiling. 


Bishops  of  Nokth  Caiiolixa.  41 

did  not  remain  in  America,  however,  but  carried  his  wife  and 
his  son  John  Stark  Ravenscroft  (the  only  child  who  had  been 
born  to  him  up  to  that  time)  to  Great  Britain  in  1772,  when  the 
son  was  less  than  a  year  old.  Doctor  Ravenscroft  first  settled  at 
Popcastle,  in  Cumberland  County,  on  the  northern  border  of 
England.  After  remaining  there  about  a  year,  he  removed  his 
family  to  the  Scottish  side  of  the  Solway  Firth,  and  purchased 
an  estate  called  Cairnsmore,  in  the  Stewartry  of  Kirkcudbright, 
a  part  of  the  District  of  Galloway.  He  died  at  Cairnsmore  in 
July,  1781,  while  the  American  Revolution  was  in  progress,  and 
when  his  son  was  nine  years  old.  In  the  meantime  other  chil- 
dren had  been  born  to  him — two  sons,  who  died  young,  and  sev- 
eral daughters,  to  whom  reference  will  be  made  later  on.  By  a 
deed  of  settlement,  executed  January  8,  1781,  a  few  months 
before  Doctor  Ravenscroft's  death,  Cairnsmore  was  conveyed  to 
his  eldest  son.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years.  Doctor  Ravens- 
croft's widow  married  Patrick  Stewart  of  Borness,  being  the 
second  wife  of  that  gentleman.  About  the  year  1793,  Mr.  Stew- 
art purchased  Cairnsmore  from  young  Ravenscroft,  his  step-son, 
and  the  consideration  therefor  was  no  doubt  liberal;  for,  in  a 
letter  to  his  mother,  dated  June  15,  1794,  the  young  Virginian 
"rejoiced  that  the  sale  put  it  in  his  power  to  insure  the  independ- 
ence of  his  sisters."  The  full  sisters  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  were 
Jean,  who  married  William  McKean,  and  died  without  issue; 
and  Anne,  who  married  Alexander  Craig,  and  left  two  daugh- 
ters, both  of  whom  died  unmarried.  He  also  had  two  brothers, 
George  and  Peyton  Ravenscroft,  but  both  of  these  died  in  in- 
fancy. In  addition  to  these,  he  had  three  half-brothers  (chil- 
dren of  his  mother  by  her  second  husband,  Patrick  Stewart),  as 
follows:  James  Stewart  of  Cairnsmore  (born  April  2,  1791 — 
died  September  19,  1877),  who  married  Elizabeth  McLeod,  and 
left  descendants;  Keith  Stewart,  Lieutenant-Commander  in  the 
Royal  ISTavy,  who  was  born  October  4,  1792,  and  died  unmarried 
February  23,  1822;  and  Stair  Stewart,  who  was  born  in  1798 
and  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen.     To  Gilbert  McLeod  Stewart, 


42  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

Esq.,  a  son  of  the  above  James  Stewart  of  Cairnsmore,  the  pres- 
ent writer  wishes  to  make  acknowledgments  for  valuable  data 
relative  to  the  maternal  connections  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft ;  and 
is  similarly  indebted  to  Doctor  William  Scot,  formerly  of  Edin- 
burgh and  now  of  Cape  Colony  in  South  Africa,  who  is  a  son  of 
the  late  Lieutenant-General  Patrick  George  Scot  and  a  grand- 
son of  James  Stewart  of  Cairnsmore.  Among  the  thirteen  chil- 
dren born  to  the  aforementioned  James  Stewart  of  Cairnsmore 
have  been  several  officers  in  the  military  and  naval  service  of 
Great  Britain,  and  two  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England, 
viz.,  the  Venerable  Ravenscroft  Stewart,  Archdeacon  of  Bristol, 
and  the  Reverend  Henry  Holmes  Stewart,  Rector  of  Porthkerry, 
South  Wales.  An  account  of  the  Stewart  family  of  Cairnsmore 
will  be  found  in  Burke's  History  of  the  Landed  Gentry,  edition 
of  1900,  page  1503. 

Bishop  Ravenscroft's  maternal  grandfather,  Hugh  Miller,  of 
Greenerofts,  Prince  George  County,  Virginia,  was  a  Scotchman 
by  birth  and  a  gentleman  highly  esteemed  in  his  adopted  home. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  served  as  a 
vestryman  of  Bristol  Parish  from  August  25,  1746,  until  his 
removal  from  Virginia.  On  December  8,  1760,  he  was  succeeded 
as  vestryman  by  Roger  Atkinson,  grandfather  of  Bishop  Atkin- 
son. Mr.  Miller  is  said  to  have  secured  from  the  Masonic  Grand 
Lodge  of  Scotland  the  charter  (September  9,  1757)  for  Bland- 
ford  Lodge,  now  ]STo.  3,  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  The  original 
charter  of  this  lodge  is  still  preserved,  and  shows  that  its  first 
officers  were:  Peter  Robertson,  Worshipful  Master;  Samuel 
Gordon,  Senior  Warden ;  and  James  Anderson,  Junior  Warden. 
Finally  Mr.  Miller  went  to  England,  and  died  in  London  on  the 
13th  of  February,  1762.  His  wife  was  Jane  Boiling,  daughter 
of  Colonel  Robert  Boiling,  of  Farmingdale,  Prince  George 
County,  a  member  of  one  of  the  oldest  families  in  Virginia.  The 
founder  of  the  Boiling  family  in  America  married  (his  first 
wife)  Jane  Rolfe,  a  granddaughter  of  Pocahontas,  the  Indian 
princess;  but  it  was  from  his  second  wife,  whose  maiden  name 


Bishops  of  I!^orth  Carolina.  43 

was  Anne  Stilli,  that  Mrs.  Miller  was  descended.  Doctor  John 
Ravenscroft  himself  was  descended  from  the  same  line,  as  al- 
ready shown.  One  of  Hugh  Miller's  daughters,  Anne  (an  aunt 
of  Bishop  Ravenscroft)  married  Sir  Peyton  Skipwith,  seventh 
Baronet  of  PrestAvould;  and,  after  that  lady  died,  her  sister, 
Jean  Miller,  became  the  second  wife  of  Sir  Peyton.  Several 
successive  Baronets  in  the  Skipwith  family  resided  in  Virginia, 
and  they  have  many  descendants  noAv  living  in  America,  though 
the  present  Baronet  is  a  British  subject. 

The  Ravenscroft  estate  in  Virginia,  owing  to  bad  manage- 
ment by  an  attorney,  did  not  result  as  advantageously  to  its 
owner  as  had  been  hoped ;  and  hence,  while  in  Scotland,  Doctor 
Ravenscroft  was  financially  embarrassed  for  a  while.  N^ever- 
theless,  he  left  his  wife  and  children  in  good  circumstances. 
John  Stark  Ravenscroft  Avas  given  a  fine  academic  training  in 
both  Scotland  and  the  north  of  England,  thereby  laying  the 
foundation  of  some  further  education  which  he  later  received 
in  America.  A  part  of  his  school  course  was  the  study  of  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  so  Avell  did  he  apply  himself  that  in  later  years, 
when  he  again  turned  his  attention  to  these  Sacred  Writings, 
after  long  neglect,  his  task  was  made  easier  by  the  knowledge 
he  had  acquired  in  boyhood.  While  at  school  in  England  young 
Ravenscroft  had  a  strange  experience  which  he  afterwards  re- 
lated to  the  Reverend  William  Mercer  Green,  in  later  years 
Bishop  of  Mississippi.  He  was  living  with  an  aunt,  who  was 
apparently  in  perfect  health  when  he  left  her  home  one  morning 
to  attend  school.  During  a  recess  at  midday  he  was  playing 
with  some  companions  near  a  hedge,  when  he  saw  what  appeared 
to  be  his  aunt  approaching,  walking  on  top  of  the  hedge.  Struck 
with  amazement  at  this  latter  circumstance,  he  gazed  at  her,  and 
as  she  approached  her  form  melted  into  air.  While  pondering 
on  this  apparition  a  servant  came  with  the  hurried  message 
that  his  aunt  had  died  a  short  while  before.  On  another  occa- 
sion during  his  school  days,  when  only  eight  or  nine  years  old, 
young  Ravenscroft  had  a  narrow  escape  from  death,  an  infuri- 


44  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

ated  bull  tossing  him  up  in  the  air  and  attempting  to  gore  him, 
when  he  was  rescued  by  some  servants. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  1788  John  Stark  Ravenscroft 
(then  only  sixteen  years  old)  determined  to  return  to  Virginia 
and  see  what  could  be  saved  from  the  wreck  of  his  father's 
estate.  In  this  he  was  successful  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was 
thereby  placed  in  affluent  circumstances  and  so  remained  until 
toward  the  end  of  his  life,  when  he  met  with  reverses  in  fortune 
in  consequence  of  having  become  surety  for  the  payment  of  a 
friend's  debts.  It  was  on  JSTew  Year's  day,  1789,  that  he  again 
reached  Virginia.  Being  under  age,  his  business  affairs  were 
entrusted  to  the  control  of  a  guardian;  but  the  gentleman  who 
filled  this  position  made  his  ward  liberal  allowances — too  lib- 
eral, in  fact,  for  a  young  man  of  not  over-sedate  habits — and 
young  Ravenscroft  soon  became  addicted  to  the  fashionable  sins 
of  his  day,  though  not  more  so  than  was  usual  with  the  gener- 
ality of  young  men  of  his  station  in  life.  Being  advised  to  study 
law,  he  entered  William  and  Mary  College  to  obtain  instruction 
from  the  celebrated  jurist,  Chancellor  George  Wythe,  formerly 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  that  same  year 
Chancellor  Wythe  was  succeeded  as  Professor  of  Law  at  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  by  St.  George  Tucker.  One  of  Mr.  Tucker's 
step-sons,  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke,  knew  Ravenscroft  at 
this  time,  and  afterwards  said  that  the  future  Bishop  was  known 
among  his  college-mates  as  "Mad  Jack."  Mr.  Randolph  added 
that  this  sobriquet  was  well  given,  in  consequence  of  his  vehe- 
mence of  temper,  speech  and  manner.  Another  one  of  Ravens- 
croft's  college-mates  was  John  Hall,  afterwards  a  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  l^orth  Carolina  at  the  same  time  that 
Ravenscroft  was  Bishop.  We  are  unable  to  state  with  exactness 
how  long  Mr.  Ravenscroft  remained  at  William  and  Mary,  as 
the  records  of  that  institution,  together  with  its  buildings,  have 
twice  been  burned  since  1790 — once  in  1857  and  once  by  the 
Federal  troops  in  1862. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  45 

After  leaving  college  it  was  some  time  before  Mr.  Ravens- 
croft  was  moved  to  mend  his  way  of  living.  He  was  not  an 
infrequent  attendant  at  horse  races,  then  a  favorite  form  of 
outdoor  sport;  and  afterwards  confessed  to  a  friend,  with  ex- 
pressions of  deep  contrition,  that  on  one  occasion  he  had  gone 
to  the  race-course  with  the  determination  to  horsewhip  a  fellow- 
sportsman  who  had  offended  him;  and,  if  resisted,  to  shoot  him 
down.  The  object  of  his  resentment  was  unexpectedly  detained 
from  the  race,  and  his  would-be  assailant  ever  regarded  this  cir- 
cumstance as  a  merciful  restraint  by  the  hand  of  God  upon  the 
terrible  purpose  he  had  formed.  But  all  these  experiences  gave 
Bishop  Ravenscroft  one  advantage — an  insight  into  the  evil 
ways  of  mankind.  To  one  of  his  clergy  in  North  Carolina  he 
said:  "Brother  Green,  I  have  one  advantage  over  you;  while 
you  were  brought  up  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  ignorance  of  the 
great  wickedness  that  is  going  on  in  the  world,  I  know  all  about 
the  ways  of  sinners,  and  can  therefore  track  the  scoundrels  into 
all  their  dens  and  hiding  places  and  strip  them  of  their  self- 
conceits  and  refuges  of  lies." 

One  of  the  many  absurd  stories  which  went  the  rounds  of  the 
press  during  the  lifetime  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  was  to  the  effect 
that  his  conversion  was  brought  about  by  overhearing  one  of  his 
slaves,  whom  he  had  unmercifully  beaten  for  attending  church, 
pray  long  and  earnestly  for  the  master  who  had  so  despitefully 
used  him.  Upon  having  this  story  called  to  his  attention,  the 
Bishop  said  there  was  not  one  word  of  truth  in  it — that  while, 
in  his  young  manhood,  he  had  been  terribly  negligent  of  his  own 
obligations  to  God,  there  never  was  a  time  w'hen  he  could  bring 
himself  to  interfere  with  the  religious  rights  of  others. 

In  his  twenty-first  year  Mr.  Ravenscroft  was  unifed  in  mar- 
riage (September  29,  1792)  with  his  first  wife,  Anne  Spots- 
wood  Burwell.  This  lady  belonged  to  an  old  and  extensive  fam- 
ily, being  the  daughter  of  Lewis  Burwell,  who  resided  on  an 
estate  called  Stoneland,  in  Mecklenburg  County,  Virginia.  Mrs. 
Ravenscroft  is  said  to  have  been  a  woman  of  great  personal 


46  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

beauty,  possessing  the  strongest  endovrments,  both  mental  and 
moral ;  and  she  exerted  a  potent  influence  for  good  over  her  hus- 
band's life.  Though  Mr.  Eavenscroft  was  always  a  man  of 
honor,  the  vices  of  his  day  were  fast  gaining  a  hold  on  him  when 
his  union  with  this  good  woman  arrested  their  course.  In  later 
years  her  husband  sr)oke  of  her  as  follows :  "She  was  a  woman 
of  high  principle  and  of  a  very  independent  character ;  what  she 
did  not  approve  of  she  would  not  smile  upon,  yet  she  never  gave 
me  a  cross  word  or  an  ill-natured  look  in  her  life,  and  in  the 
twenty-three  years  it  pleased  God  to  spare  her  to  me,  such  was 
her  discretion  that,  though  I  often  acted  otherwise  than  she 
could  have  wished  me  to  do,  and  though  she  was  faithful  to  re- 
prove me,  there  never  was  a  quarrel  or  temporary  estrangement 
betv/een  us."  Mrs.  Eavenscroft  died  in  the  year  1814.  To  the 
second  Mrs.  Eavenscroft  (who  came  with  her  husband  to  ISTorth 
Carolina  and  died  in  that  State)  later  allusion  will  be  made. 

About  the  year  1792,  shortly  before  he  became  of  age,  Mr. 
Eavenscroft  re-visited  Scotland  for  the  purpose  of  selling  his 
paternal  estate  and  winding  up  his  other  business  affairs  in  that 
country,  after  which  he  came  back  to  Virginia,  having  deter- 
mined to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  America.  It  was 
shortly  after  returning  to  Virginia  that  his  first  marriage  took 
place.  At  the  solicitation  of  his  wife  he  removed  to  Lunenburg 
County,  and  there  purchased  an  estate  of  about  2,500  acres, 
which  was  nearer  her  father's  home  in  the  adjacent  county  of 
Mecklenburg.  In  his  new  home  Mr.  Eavenscroft  led  the  life  of 
a  country  gentleman  for  many  years — happy  and  contented  for 
a  time  with  a  course  which  was  then  considered  highly  respect- 
able, yet  ever  neglectful  of  religious  obligations.  In  after  years, 
while  mournfully  contemplating  the  sins  of  omission  which  had 
marked  his  early  manhood.  Bishop  Eavenscroft  said  he  let 
eighteen  years  pass  without  once  opening  his  Bible;  and  that, 
between  the  years  1792  and  1810,  he  attended  public  v/orship  not 
more  than  six  or  seven  times — and  then  through  force  of  circum- 
stances instead  of  choice. 


Bishops  of  N'orth  Carolijs^a.  47 

It  was  about  the  year  1810  that  Mr.  Ravenscroft  first  began  to 
entertain  some  serious  concern  about  judgment  to  come,  and  he 
was  crossed  by  many  trials  ere  he  triumphed  over  his  shortcom- 
ings. His  besetting  sins,  he  tells  us,  were  "an  impatient  and 
passionate  temper,  with  a  most  sinful  and  hateful  habit  of  pro- 
fane swearing."  On  his  large  plantation  were  two  mills,  several 
miles  apart,  and  on  his  lonely  rides  between  these,  while  his 
heart  communed  with  itself,  the  awakening  of  his  soul  slowly 
began.  In  recording  his  trials,  temptations,  failures  and  re- 
newed resolutions  for  good,  he  later  wrote :  "Again  and  dread- 
fully did  I  fall  from  my  own  steadfastness.  Temptation,  like 
a  mighty  man  thai  shouteth  hy  reason  of  tvine,  swept  my  strength 
before  it — carried  away  my  resolutions  as  Samson  did  the  gates 
of  Gaza.  I  returned  to  the  house  convinced  of  my  own  helpless- 
ness, of  my  native  depravity,  and  that  to  spiritual  things  I  was 
incompetent.  I  now  found  of  a  truth  that  in  me  dwelt  no  good 
thing.  1  threw  myself  upon  my  bed  in  my  private  room ;  I  wept, 
I  prayed.  Then  was  showed  unto  me  my  folly  in  trusting  to  an 
arm  of  flesh.  Then  did  it  please  the  Lord  to  point  my  bewil- 
dered view  to  Him  v\'ho  is  the  Lord  our  righteousness.  Then  was 
I  enabled  in  another  strength  to  commit  myself  unto  His  way. 
From  that  moment  my  besetting  sin  of  profane  swearing  was 
overcome,  and  to  this  moment  has  troubled  me  no  more.  But 
much  was  yet  to  be  done,  which  the  same  gracious  Friend  of 
poor  sinners  continued  to  supply,  and  to  lead  me,  step  by  step, 
to  proclaim  His  saving  name  and  declare  His  mighty  power 
openly  to  the  world." 

After  casting  his  eyes  about  for  a  while,  seeking  a  Christian 
denomination  with  which  to  affiliate,  Mr.  Ravenscroft  (together 
with  his  wife)  entered  a  religious  body  called  Republican  Metho- 
dists (a  sect  which  afterwards  passed  out  of  existence),  being 
strongly  moved  to  that  step  by  personal  friendship  for  one  of  the 
preachers  in  that  denomination,  the  Reverend  John  Robinson,  of 
Charlotte  County.  At  that  time  there  was  not  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  these  Methodists  to  form  a  congregation  near  Mr.  Ravens- 


48  Bishops  of  I^orth  Carolina 

croft's  home,  though  they  arranged  to  have  sermons  delivered 
monthly  at  a  point  eight  miles  away.  At  a  later  period  a  larger 
number  was  gotten  together  and  a  congregation  formed.  In  this 
little  flock  Mr.  Ravenscroft  became  a  lay  elder,  and  read  ser- 
mons whenever  one  of  their  preachers  could  not  be  had.  After 
successfully  working  three  years  as  a  layman  he  began  to  enter- 
tain thoughts  of  entering  the  ministry.  The  spiritual  wants 
of  the  neighborhood  strongly  apealed  to  him,  and  yet  much 
moral  courage  was  required  to  take  the  step  he  contemplated. 
Scoifers  at  religion  were  not  any  more  unknown  in  that  day 
than  they  are  now;  and  Mr.  Ravenscroft,  in  speaking  of  his 
entry  into  the  ministry,  said,  at  a  later  period  of  his  life :  "Con- 
tempt for  the  calling  itself,  manifested  by  wealthier  and  better 
informed  classes  of  society,  which  I  once  felt  myself  and  now 
witnessed  in  others,  was  a  severe  stumbling-block."  But  it  took 
more  than  a  stumbling-block  to  check  the  purpose  of  a  man  like 
Ravenscroft.  He  had  stumbled  before,  only  to  rise  again,  and 
had  now  learned  to  rely  on  strength  from  above  in  all  his  trials. 
But,  in  a  doctrinal  way,  he  began  to  entertain  uneasiness  and 
doubts  on  a  question  to  which  he  had  theretofore  given  little 
thought :  this  was,  whether  the  ministry  of  every  Christian  de- 
nomination was  valid  and  authorized  by  the  Scriptures.  Espe- 
cially was  he  doubtful  of  their  right  to  administer  the  Sacra- 
ment. On  stating  his  perplexity  to  the  Republican  Methodist 
clergyman,  under  whom  he  had  so  long  labored  as  a  layman, 
that  gentleman — "an  able  and  sensible,  though  not  a  learned, 
man" — was  little  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  point 
raised.  Of  his  deeper  studies  into  the  matter  Mr.  Ravenscroft 
said :  "Being  thus  left  to  my  own  resources,  and  the  Word  of 
God,  I  became  fully  convinced  that  the  awful  deposit  of  the 
Word,  by  which  we  shall  all  be  judged,  could  never  be  thrown 
out  into  the  world  to  be  scrambled  for  and  picked  up  by  whoso- 
ever pleased  to  take  hold  of  it ;  and,  though  this  objection  might 
in  some  sort  be  met  by  the  manifestations  of  an  internal  call,  yet 
as  that  internal  call  could  not  be  demonstrated  to  others,  some- 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  49 

thing  more  was  needed  which  could  only  be  found  in  the  outward 
delegation  of  authority  from  that  source  to  which  it  was  origi- 
nally committed."  * 

In  consequence  of  his  non-belief  in  the  validit}'^  and  authority 
of  the  ministry  under  which  he  had  theretofore  served,  Mr. 
Ravenseroft  applied  to  the  Republican  Methodist  District  Meet- 
ing for  a  letter  of  dismissal;  and  this  was  granted  "in  the  most 
friendly  and  affectionate  manner,"  as  he  himself  bears  witness. 
To  part  with  his  brethren,  most  of  them  old  neighbors  as  well  as 
personal  friends,  was  doubtless  so  painful  that  earthly  considera- 
tions could  never  have  moved  him  thereto.  But  he  was  now 
adrift — free  from  affiliation  with  any  denomination  of  Chris- 
tians— and  began  to  cast  about  for  a  religious  resting-place. 
Before  coming  to  a  final  decision,  his  most  serious  thought  was 
given  to  the  claims  of  Presbyterianism ;  but  that  denomination's 
origin,  he  declared,  could  be  traced  no  further  back  than  the  Ref- 
ormation. Furthermore,  said  he,  in  its  lines  of  succession  it 
even  labored  under  the  doubt  as  to  whether  it  so  much  as  had 
the  authority  which  mere  presbyters  could  transmit,  for  it  did 
not  satisfactorily  appear  that  Calvin  ever  had  received  orders 
of  any  hind.  Moved  by  these  considerations,  Mr.  Ravenseroft 
determined  to  enter  the  American  Episcopal  Church,  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  old  Church  of  England,  and  to  apply  for  holy 
orders  therein.  As  the  reasons  upon  which  he  based  his  belief 
in  the  unbroken  line  of  the  Episcopate  of  the  Church  of  England 
have  already  been  set  forth  in  the  introductory  chapter  of  this 
work,  it  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  them  here. 

Being  resolved,  as  already  stated,  to  apply  for  holy  orders  in 
the  church  of  his  ancestors,  Mr.  Ravenseroft  repaired  to  Rich- 
mond, with  proper  credentials,  and  there  made  his  wishes  known 
to  the  Right  Reverend  Richard  Channing  Moore,  Bishop  of 
Virginia.  As  the  canons  of  the  Church  required  that  the  names 
of  candidates  for  orders  should  be  inscribed  in  the  books  for  one 
year  before  advancement,  Mr.  Ravenseroft  could  not  become  a 

*  Worlcs  of  Bishop  Ravenseroft  (edition  of  ISHO),  Vol.  I.,  p.  18. 


50  Bishops  of  jSTorth  Carolina. 

deacon  at  once,  but  Bishop  Moore  licensed  him  (February  17, 
1816)  as  a  lay  reader,  and  he  labored  as  such  in  the  parishes  of 
Cumberland  in  Lunenburg  County,  and  Saint  James  in  Meck- 
lenburg County.  On  the  25th  of  April,  1817,  in  the  Monumen- 
tal Church  at  Richmond,  he  was  admitted  to  the  office  of  deacon. 
On  the  6th  of  May  following,  while  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
Virginia  was  in  session  at  Fredericksburg,  he  Avas  there  ordained 
to  the  priesthood.  At  the  time  of  his  ordination  he  was  much 
further  advanced  in  age  than  is  usually  the  case  with  candidates 
for  holy  orders,  being  forty-five  years  old.  He  had  previously 
been  asked  by  the  parish  of  Saint  James,  in  Mecklenburg 
County,  to  become  its  Rector,  and  this  invitation  he  now  ac- 
cepted. Of  the  zeal  wdth  which  he  performed  the  duties  of  his 
sacred  office  while  in  Virginia,  it  has  been  said:  "His  atten- 
tion to  the  duties  of  his  calling,  which  he  suffered  nothing  to 
divert,  was  indeed  remarkable.  His  punctuality  as  a  minister, 
for  instance,  was  so  exact  that  during  the  whole  time  he  offi- 
ciated as  deacon  and  priest  he  was  never  known  to  fail  in  keeping 
an  appointment.  Relying,  with  a  confidence  which  ultimately 
became  fatal,  upon  the  vigor  and  stability  of  his  constitution, 
he  set  at  naught  all  kinds  of  weather,  while  engaged  in  the 
duties  which  called  him  from  home.  Even  when  the  weather 
was  so  inclem-ent  that  he  would  not  permit  his  servant,  who 
acted  as  the  sexton  of  his  churches,  to  accompany  him,  he  would 
himself  take  the  keys  and  ride  off  five  or  ten  miles  to  the  regular 
place  of  worship,  without,  perhaps,  the  slightest  expectation  of 
meeting  an  individual;  and  sometimes,  as  he  used  to  express 
himself,  would  'ride  around  the  church,  when  the  snow  was  a 
foot  deep,  and  leave  his  track  as  a  testimony  against  his  people.'  " 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  such  labors  as  the  above  soon  made 
themselves  felt.  In  his  address  to  the  Virginia  Diocesan  Con- 
vention of  1818,  Bishop  Moore  said:  ''I  proceeded  to  Mecklen- 
burg and  consecrated  a  new  church,  erected  by  the  parishioners 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ravenscroft.  In  that  place,  brethren,  in  which 
the  Church  was  thought  to  be  extinct,  the  friends  of  our  com- 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  51 

munion  have  awakened  from  tlieir  slumbers.  Aided  by  the  ex- 
ertions of  their  faithful  and  laborious  minister,  they  have  raised 
a  temple  sacred  to  the  living  God.  May  that  Saviour,  whom 
they  worship  with  so  much  ardour  and  sincerity  of  heart,  accept 
their  sacrifice  and  remember  them  for  good." 

So  effective  was  the  work  of  Mr.  Ilavenscroft  in  Ids  parish 
in  Mecklenburg  County,  Virginia,  that  in  1823  he  was  called  by 
the  Church  in  Norfolk,  with  an  offer  of  greater  emoluments 
(of  which  he  was  now  in  need,  for  much  of  his  fortune  had 
been  lost),  but  this  was  declined.  About  the  same  time  he  also 
received  a  call  from  the  Monumental  Church  in  Richmond,  as 
Assistant  Rector.  This  call  he  accepted,  for  his  help  was  needed 
by  Bishop  Moore,  who  was  then  filling  the  Episcopate  and  serving 
as  Rector  of  the  Monumental  Church  at  the  same  time — holding 
the  positions  jointly,  just  as  was  the  case  with  Mr.  Ravenscroft 
himself  at  a  later  time  when  he  was  both  Bishop  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  Rector  of  Christ  Church  in  Raleigh.  Desiring  to  re- 
lieve Bishop  Moore,  and  thereby  enable  him  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  his  more  important  office  without  hindrance,  Mr. 
Ravenscroft  accepted  the  call  to  Richmond ;  but,  before  he  could 
remove  to  that  city,  he  was  summoned  to  a  more  important 
post — that  of  Bishop  of  North  Carolina.  In  describing  the 
effect  upon  Mr.  Ravenscroft  of  this  call  to  the  Episcopate,  the 
Reverend  William  Mercer  Green,  who  bore  the  notification  of 
his  election  to  him,  later  said  that  he  could  never  forget  the 
solemn  nature  of  their  interview.  He  found  him  at  home,  with 
his  wife  beside  him  and  a  Bible  open  before  him.  After  the 
usual  salutations,  the  documents  containing  the  certificate  of  his 
election,  etc.,  were  placed  in  Ravenscroft's  hands.  Mr.  Green 
had  some  curiosity  to  witness  the  effect  produced  upon  him  by 
this  unexpected  call,  and  narrowly  watched  the  workings  of  his 
countenance.  For  some  moments  Ravenscroft  read  and  re-read, 
as  if  loath  to  believe  the  startling  proposition.  At  length  a  deep 
groan  relieved  the  awful  heavings  of  his  breast.  At  this  sound 
his  wife  looked  up  and  cast  an  anxious  glance  at  both,  as  if  to 


52  Bishops  of  jSToeth  Cakolina. 

inquire  the  cause  of  such  emotion,  l^ot  a  word,  however,  was 
spoken.  An  impressive  silence  reigned  throughout  the  chamber, 
broken  only  by  hard  and  long-drawn  breathings.  At  length, 
after  pacing  the  floor  for  a  few  moments,  as  if  struggling  to  keep 
down  his  emotions,  Mr.  Ravenscroft  paused  before  Green  and 
said,  in  his  peculiarly  emphatic  manner :  "Brother,  it  must  be 
so.  The  hand  of  God  is  in  this  thing ;  I  see  it ;  and  with  His 
help  I  will  endeavor  to  go  where  He  calls  me."  Then,  putting 
the  papers  into  the  hands  of  his  wife,  he  endeavored  to  return 
to  his  wonted  strain  of  cheerful  and  edifying  conversation.  Mr. 
Green  (whose  language  we  have  largely  used  in  giving  this  ac- 
count) adds  that  there  was  an  evident  weight  upon  Mr.  Ravens- 
croft during  the  remainder  of  this  visit,  which  might  well  cause 
one  to  wonder  how  the  "office  of  Bishop"  could  ever  be  the  aim 
of  worldly  ambition. 

It  was  in  Saint  Paul's  Church,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on 
the  22d  day  of  May,  1823,  that  the  Reverend  Doctor  Ravens- 
croft was  consecrated  Bishop  of  JSTorth  Carolina  by  Bishops 
William  White  of  Pennsylvania,  Alexander  Viets  Griswold  of 
the  Eastern  Diocese,  James  Kemp  of  Maryland,  John  Croes  of 
New  Jersey,  Nathaniel  Bowen  of  South  Carolina,  and  Thomas 
Church  Brownell  of  Connecticut.  Divine  services  were  con- 
ducted on  this  occasion  by  the  Reverend  William  Mercer  Green, 
and  the  consecration  sermon  was  delivered  by  Bishop  Griswold. 
The  former  afterwards  said  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft's  demeanor 
on  that  occasion :  "Never,  while  memory  retains  her  seat,  shall 
I  forget  the  startling  effect  of  his  responses  upon  the  multitude 
that  looked  on.  It  was  as  though  an  earthquake  was  shaking  the 
deep  foundations  of  those  venerable  walls.  A  breathless  silence 
reigned  during  the  whole  of  the  sacred  ceremony;  and  no  one, 
it  is  believed,  left  the  church  that  day  without  feeling  as  if  he 
could  pledge  himself  for  the  sincerity  and  zeal  of  him  who  was 
then  invested  with  the  apostolic  office."  At  the  time  of  his  con- 
secration Bishop  Ravenscroft  was  the  tenth  living  member  of 
the  House  of  Bishops. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  53 

When  Doctor  Raveuscroft  Avas  called  to  the  Episcopate  the 
authorities  of  the  Church  in  North  Carolina  frankly  stated  to 
him  the  numerical  weakness  of  the  Diocese  and  its  consequent 
poverty.  Such  a  salary  as  the  Diocese  itself  could  pay  would 
not  alone  bo  sufficient  for  his  support,  but  an  arrangement  was 
made  whereby  he  might  become  Rector  of  the  parish  of  Christ 
Church  in  Raleigh,  and  divide  his  time  between  the  care  of  that 
congregation  and  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  Episco- 
pate throughout  the  Diocese  at  large.  In  this  way  he  might 
draw  a  small  amount  from  each  source,  and  thus  win  a  modest 
living  till  the  arrival  of  better  days,  when  it  was  hoped  that  the 
Diocese  could  make  a  more  liberal  provision  for  the  maintenance 
of  its  Bishop. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  this  narrative  we  shall  carry 
the  reader  back  a  few  years  in  order  to  explain  conditions  which 
existed  in  North  Carolina  when  Ravenscroft  became  Bishop. 
As  already  stated,  several  efforts  had  been  made,  just  after  the 
Revolution,  to  found  a  diocese — the  movers  in  the  matter  even 
going  so  far  as  to  elect  a  Bishop  (the  Reverend  Charles  Petti- 
grew),  who,  however,  d|ed  without  being  consecrated.  After  the 
failure  of  these  early  attempts  no  serious  effort  was  again  made 
until  1817,  though  several  parishes  had  managed  to  preserve 
their  existence  throughout  the  trying  period  which  intervened. 
In  the  meantime  the  older  clergy  had  all  removed  from  the  State 
or  died,  and  their  places  Avere  not  filled.  The  last  surviving 
clergyman  of  the  colonial  era  in  North  Carolina  was  the  Rev- 
erend Nathaniel  Blount,  of  Beaufort  County,  who  passed  to  his 
reward  in  the  Fall  of  1816.  This  gentleman  belonged  to  a  family 
Avhich  is  said  to  have  been  seated  in  North  Carolina  for  a  longer 
period  than  any  other  which  is  still  extant ;  and  its  members 
have  been  firm  friends  of  the  Church  from  the  earliest  dawn  of 
the  State's  colonial  existence.  Nathaniel  Blount  in  early  life 
was  brought  under  the  spiritual  influence  of  that  splendid 
Church  of  England  missionary,  the  Reverend  Alexander  Stew- 
art, minister  in  charge  of  Saint  Thomas's  Church,  in  Bath,  to 


54  Bishops  of  ISTosth  Cakolina. 

whose  labors  we  have  referred  on  a  previous  page.  In  1773,  the 
young  Churchman  went  to  England  and  was  duly  admitted  to 
holy  orders  in  Saint  Paul's  Church,  London.  Almost  immedi- 
ately after  his  return,  he  erected  at  his  own  expense  a  house  of 
worship,  afterwards  known  as  "Parson  Blount's  Chapel,"  but 
now  called  Trinity  Church.  This  church  (which  is  in  Choco- 
winity,  Beaufort  County)  is  still  standing,  though  some  addi- 
tions have  been  made  to  the  original  building.  In  the  unsuccess- 
ful efforts  to  establish  a  Diocese  in  1790-'94,  Parson  Blount  Avas 
one  of  those  engaged.  V/hen  he  died,  in  1816,  there  was  not  left 
surviving  a  single  clergyman  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
entire  State  of  North  Carolina.  But  the  Church  was  not  dead. 
Where  the  earlier  workers  had  sown,  a  harvest  was  yet  to  spring 
up,  and  hopeful  children  of  the  Church  might  exclaim,  "The 
night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand."  And  the  new  day  da'WTied 
in  1817.  On  the  24th  of  April,  in  that  year,  a  small  convention 
was  held  at  J^ew  Bern,  and  further  steps  were  taken  to  set  up  a 
Diocese  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina  by  drawing  up  a  consti- 
tution for  the  government  of  the  Church,  and  taking  other  meas- 
ures for  its  formation.  The  convention  also  appointed  a  Stand- 
ing Committee,  and  invited  Bishop  Moore,  of  Virginia,  to  as- 
sume Episcopal  oversight  of  the  Church  in  I^orth  Carolina  until 
the  State  could  secure  a  Bishop  of  its  own.  At  this  first  Dio- 
cesan Convention  in  New  Bern,  only  three  clerical  and  six  lay 
delegates  were  present.  The  Reverend  Bethel  Judd,  Rector  of 
Saint  John's  Church,  in  Fayetteville,  was  president;  and  the 
Reverend  Adam  Empie,  Rector  of  Saint  James's  Church,  in 
Wilmington,  acted  as  secretary.  The  only  other  clerical  dele- 
gate present  was  the  Reverend  J.  Curtis  Clay,  Rector  of  Christ 
Church,  in  New  Bern,  while  the  lay  delegates  present  were  John 
Winslow  of  Fayetteville,  Marsden  Campbell  and  John  Ruther- 
ford London  of  Wilmington,  John  Stanly  and  John  Spence  West 
of  New  Bern,  and  Josiah  Collins,  Jr.,  of  Edenton.  The  next 
convention  was  held  in  Fayetteville  in  April,  1818,  with  a  slight 
increase  in  attendance.    As  Bishop  Moore  was  sick,  he  could  not 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  55 

attend  tlie  Convontion  of  1818;  but  was  present  at  a  convention 
(at  Wilmington)  held  in  April,  1819,  being  styled  in  tlie  journal 
of  that  body  "Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
Dioceses  of  Virginia  and  Xorth  Carolina."  In  the  months  of 
April-May,  1820,  Bishop  Moore  presided  over  the  Diocesan  Con- 
vention in  Edenton ;  also  over  the  two  succeeding  ones  (both  held 
in  Raleigh),  April-May,  1821,  and  April,  1822.  The  secretary 
of  the  conventions  of  1819,  1820,  and  1821,  was  a  nephew  of 
Bishop  Moore,  the  Reverend  Gregory  Townsend  Bedell,  who  suc- 
ceeded the  Reverend  Mr.  Judd  as  Rector  of  Saint  John's  Church, 
in  Fayetteville,  November  1,  1818,  and  there  remained  until  the 
Spring  of  1822,  when  he  went  to  Philadelphia  and  became  Rector 
of  Saint  Andrew's  Church.  He  was  the  father  of  Bishop  Greg- 
ory Thurston  Bedell,  of  Ohio.  While  in  North  Carolina,  the 
elder  Bedell  did  much  toward  building  up  the  Church,  .and 
preached  the  convention  sermon  in  1820  on  "The  Desolations 
and  the  Restoration  of  Zion,*'  this  discourse  being  printed  by 
order  of  the  body  before  which  it  was  delivered.  Doctor  Bedell's 
biography,  by  the  Reverend  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  was  published  a 
year  or  t"wo  after  his  death,  v\'hich  occui'red  in  1834. 

Referring  to  his  visit  to  North  Carolina  in  1819,  Bishop 
Moore  addressed  the  Virginia  Diocesan  Convention  in  that  year 
as  follows :  "It  will  not  be  thought  irrelevant,  brethren,  to  notice 
at  this  time  my  late  excursion  through  the  diocess  of  North 
Carolina.  The  Church  in  that  State  is  rising  in  all  the  vigor 
of  youth.  A  new  edifice  has  been  lately  erected  in  Fayetteville, 
an  ornament  to  the  town,  and  a  credit  to  the  exertion  of  its 
founders,  which  I  consecrated  to  the  service  of  Almighty  God. 
I  confirmed  in  that  place  sixty  persons,  and  admitted  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Shavr  to  the  order  of  deacons.  Among  the  list  of  worthies 
who  have  exerted  themselves  in  the  building  of  the  Church 
in  Fayetteville,  I  find  the  names  of  Cameron  and  Winslow, 
the  sons  of  two  of  our  deceased  clergy.  May  the  spirit  of 
their  fathers  continue  to  animate  their  bosoms,  and  may  the 
children  of  other  ministers  imitate  their  noble,  their  laudable 


56  Bishops  of  ISTokth  Caeolina. 

example.  The  Chureli  in  Wilmington  is  also  in  a  prosperous 
condition.  I  preached  in  that  place  to  pious,  crowded  audito- 
ries, and  confirmed  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  persons.  ISTew- 
bern  is  also  rising  in  importance.  The  congregation  have  deter- 
mined to  erect  a  new  church  upon  the  plan  of  that  in  Fayette- 
ville.  I  preached  in  Newbern  five  times  in  three  days,  confirmed 
fifty-two  persons,  and  administered  the  Lord's  Supper  to  a  large 
body  of  pious  communicants.  I  visited  Washington,  Greenville, 
and  Tarborough,  and  preached  several  times  in  each  place." 
Though  his  presence  is  recorded  in  the  North  Carolina  Diocesan 
Convention  Journals,  we  can  find  no  record  in  the  Virginia 
Journals  of  Bishop  Moore's  visitations  to  the  conventions  at 
Raleigh  in  1821  and  1822.  Of  his  visitation  to  the  North  Caro- 
lina Convention  at  Edenton,  in  1820,  he  has  this  to  say  in  his 
address  to  the  Virginia  Convention  of  that  year:  "As  your 
regard  for  the  interests  of  the  Church  must  render  you  alive  to 
ber  prosperity  in  every  section  of  the  country,  I  consider  it  not 
irrelevant  to  state  to  you  that  I  have  attended  the  Convention  in 
North  Carolina,  and  that  the  Church  in  that  Diocess  holds  up  to 
your  view  the  most  encouraging  prospects.  In  Edenton,  at 
which  place  the  Convention  convened,  our  sittings  were  attended 
by  great  numbers  of  people,  some  of  whom  had  come  from  a  dis- 
tance of  near  fifty  miles  to  witness  our  proceedings  and  attend 
upon  our  ministry.  In  that  place  I  ordained  two  deacons,  and 
admitted  one  gentleman  to  the  priesthood.  In  that  diocess,  so 
late  as  the  year  1817,  there  was  not  a  single  clergyman :  they  are 
now  blessed  with  the  labours  of  seven  faithful  men ;  and,  in  the 
course  of  another  year,  several  candidates,  who  are  now  prepar- 
ing for  holy  orders,  will  be  admitted  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Word." 

The  members  of  the  families  of  Cameron  and  Winslow,  re- 
fered  to  as  sons  of  deceased  clergymen  in  the  extract  first  above 
quoted  from  Bishop  Moore's  journal,  were  Doctor  Thomas  N. 
Cameron  and  John  Winslow.  Doctor  Cameron  was  a  brother 
of  Judge  Duncan  Cameron,  of  Orange  County,  North  Carolina, 


Bisuops  OF  XoitTH  Carolina.  57 

and  a  son  of  the  Reverend  John  Cameron,  who  was  born  in 
Scotland,  educated  at  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  and  after- 
wards came  to  Virginia,  where  he  attained  great  eminence  in 
the  Church.  Mr.  "Winslow — a  scion  of  the  historic  Winslow 
family  of  Massachusetts — was  a  son  of  the  Reverend  Edward 
Winslow,  who  was  born  in  Boston,  graduated  from  Harvard  in 
1741,  died  in  'New  York  during  the  Revolution,  and  was  buried 
under  Saint  George's  Chapel.  John  Winslow  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  Saint  John's  Church,  in  Fayetteville,  and  its  first 
senior  warden.  He  was  also  one  of  the  six  lay  delegates  to  the 
Convention  of  1817,  held  in  IN'ew  Bern,  which  permanently 
organized  the  Diocese  of  ll^orth  Carolina.  One  of  his  sons, 
Edward  Lee  Winslow,  was  also  a  devoted  Churchman,  and  for 
many  years  was  Secretary  of  the  Diocese.  Another  son  was  the 
celebrated  lawyer,  Warren  Winslow,  Speaker  of  the  Senate  of 
North  Carolina,  who  for  a  few  weeks  (December  11,  1854-Janu- 
ary  1,  1855)  was  Acting  Governor  of  the  State,  and  who  later 
served  as  a  member  of  Congress  (December  3,  1855-March  3, 
1861),  besides  being  in  the  diplomatic  sei"vice  of  the  United 
States. 

It  was  at  Salisbury,  in  April,  1823,  that  the  Convention  was 
held  which  elected  Doctor  Ravenscroft  to  the  Bishopric.  This 
convention  was  visited  by  a  body  of  Lutheran  clergymen  and 
laymen,  who  were  welcomed  with  loving  courtesy.  Twenty-five 
parishes  of  the  Episcopal  Church  were  at  that  time  reported  to 
be  in  operation  throughout  the  State.  These  were  as  follows : 
Saint  James's,  in  Wilmington;  Saint  John's,  in  Fayetteville; 
Christ  Church,  in  New  Bern ;  Saint  Paul's,  in  Edenton ;  Saint 
Jude's,  in  Orange  County;  Saint  John's,  in  Williamsborough ; 
Saint  Mary's,  in  Orange  County;  Emmanuel,  in  Warrenton; 
Christ  Church,  in  Rowan  County;  Grace  Chapel,  in  Pitt 
County;  Saint  Mark's,  in  Halifax;  Calvary,  in  Wadesborough ; 
Christ  Church,  in  Raleigh ;  Saint  Michael's,  in  Iredell  County ; 
Saint  Peter's,  in  Lexington ;  Whitehaven,  in  Lincoln  County ; 
Smyrna,  in  Lincoln  County;  Saint  Andrew's,  in  Burke  County; 


58  Bishops  of  ISToeth  Carolina. 

Saint  Stephen's,  in  Oxford;  Saint  Peter's,  in  Lincoln  County; 
Saint  Thomas's,  in  Bath ;  Saint  Matthew's,  in  Kinston ;  Zion 
Church,  in  Beaufort  County;  and  Trinity  Chapel,  in  Beaufort 
County.  In  1824,  the  churches  or  parishes  added  were  Saint 
Peter's,  in  Washington;  Saint  Luke's,  in  Salisbury;  Union 
Chapel,  in  Waynesboro  (near  where  Goldsboro  now  stands) ; 
and  Saint  Paul's,  in  Milton.  In  that  year  Trinity  Church,  in 
Tarborough,  passed  out  of  existence. 

During  the  entire  time  that  he  filled  the  Episcopate,  Bishop 
Kavenscroft  never  in  a  single  instance  failed  to  attend  any  ses- 
sion of  either  the  General  Convention  or  the  Diocesan  Conven- 
tion. The  General  Convention  was  in  session  three  times — 1823, 
1826,  and  1829 — during  his  term  of  office,  its  meeting  place 
being  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  each  instance.  The  six  ses- 
sions of  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  while  he 
was  Bishop,  were  held  at  the  following  places  and  dates:  Wil- 
liamsborough  in  1824,  Washington  in  1825,  Hillsborough  in 
1826,  :N'ew  Bern  in  1827,  Fayetteville  in  1828,  and  Salisbury  in 
1829.  In  the  Convention  of  1828,  one  of  the  lay  delegates  was 
Leonidas  Polk,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Louisiana ;  and  Thomas  F. 
Davis,  Jr.,  later  Bishop  of  South  Carolina,  was  a  lay  delegate  in 
1829. 

Though  he  wielded  a  potent  influence  over  the  spiritual  lives 
of  many  who  afterwards  became  Bishops  —  Otey,  Freeman, 
Green,  Polk,  Davis,  and  possibly  others — Bishop  Raveuscroft 
never  took  part  in  the  ceremony  of  consecrating  a  Bishop ;  in 
fact,  only  two  were  consecrated  during  his  entire  Episcopate, 
these  being  Henry  Ustick  Onderdonk  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Wil- 
liam Meade  of  Virginia. 

As  Christ  Church,  in  Raleigh,  was  for  so  many  years  the 
scene  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft's  labors  as  parish  priest  at  the  same 
time  that  he  filled  the  Episcopate,  and  as  his  remains  noAv  rest 
beneath  its  chancel,  we  shall  devote  some  space  to  a  record  of 
its  early  history  before  proceeding  with  this  narrative.  At  the 
time  of  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft,  the  small  congrega- 


Bishops  of  N'outii  Cauolina.  59 

tioii  in  T\aleigli  Avas  sadlj  in  need  of  his  services  as  pastor, 
ilany  people  in  that  to-um  were  descended  from  families  which 
had  been  zealously  attached  to  the  Church  of  England  before 
the  Revolution ;  but  these,  for  tlie  most  part,  had  drifted  into  the 
several  denominalions  which  already  had  houses  of  worship  in 
the  infant  capital.  Prior  to  1817,  it  is  said  that  there  Avere  not 
in  Raleigh  more  than  half  a  dozen  communicants  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church.  These  were  occasionally  ministered  to  by  the  Rev- 
erend John  Phillips,  whose  home  was  then  in  Tarboro.  In  1821 
and  1822,  Bishop  Moore,  of  Virginia,  came  to  Raleigh  to  attend 
the  Diocesan  Conventions  of  the  State,  over  which  bodies  he  pre- 
sided by  request,  and  baptized  a  number  of  children  during  his 
visits,  also  administering  the  rite  of  confirmation  to  several 
adults.  The  parish  of  Christ  Church  probably  had  some  sort  of 
existence  before  1820,  but  it  was  not  regularly  organized  and  in 
shape  to  be  recognized  by  the  Diocesan  Convention  until  1822. 
In  that  year,  its  lay  delegates  were  Chief  Justice  John  Louis 
Taylor,  William  H.  Haywood,  Jr.  (afterwards  United  States 
Senator),  and  Doctor  A.  S.  H.  Purges,  an  eminent  physician  of 
that  day.  In  1824,  it  was  represented  by  Chief  Justice  Taylor, 
Doctor  Purges,  Colonel  John  S.  Ellis,  and  George  Washington 
Freeman — the  last  named  taking  holy  orders  a  short  time  there- 
after, and  eventually  becoming  Missionary  Pishop  of  the  South- 
west. In  1825,  Gavin  Hogg,  an  eminent  la^A^yer,  Avas  sole  dele- 
gate from  the  parish ;  in  1826,  it  was  represented  by  Mr.  Hogg, 
Mr.  Haywood  and  Judge  George  E.  Padger,  the  last  mentioned 
afterwards  becoming  United  States  Senator,  and  also  Secretary 
of  the  'NsLYj  under  Presidents  Harrison  and  Tyler.  In  1827, 
Mr.  Hogg  was  again  the  sole  delegate  from  Christ  Church ;  and 
in  1828,  it  had  as  its  delegates  Judge  Padger,  Gavin  Hogg,  and 
young  Leonidas  Polk,  who  was  later  to  become  famous  alike  as 
Bishop  and  General.  In  1829  (the  last  time  the  Diocesan  Con- 
vention met  during  the  Episcopate  of  Pishop  Ravenscroft),  no 
delegate  was  present  from  Christ  ChurcL 

In  1823,  the  members  of  the  little  congregation  at  Raleigh 
who  had  so  faithfully  stood  by  their  Church  throughout  long 


60  Bishops  of  j^orth  CAROLiiSTA. 

years  of  gloom,  looked  forward  Avitli  expectant  joy  to  the  time 
when  their  first  Rector,  in  the  person  of  the  new  Bishop,  was  to 
take  up  his  ahode  among  them,  and  Bishop  Ravenscroft  paid  a 
brief  visit  to  that  city  in  June,  almost  immediately  after  his  con- 
secration; then  he  went  back,  for  a  short  while,  to  wind  up  his 
aifairs  in  Virginia  before  repairing  permanently  to  his  new 
home.  Mention  of  his  first  visit  to  the  capital  of  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina was  made  in  a  newspaper  of  that  day,  the  Raleigh  Register, 
in  its  issue  of  July  18,  1823,  in  these  words : 

"It  has  already  been  stated  in  the  papers  that  Bishop  Ravenscroft 
was  expected  to  take  up  his  residence  in  this  city.  We  are  gratified 
in  saying  this  is  decided,  and  that  he  will  remove  to  this  place  in 
December  next.  On  a  late  visit,  the  Bishop  occupied  the  Pi-esbyterian 
Church,  and  preached  several  times.  He  is,  as  every  man  ought  to  be 
who  ministers  in  holy  things  for  the  spiritual  edification  of  his  fellow 
beings,  a  zealous  advocate  for  what  he  conceives  to  be  the  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel.  His  style  is  plain,  perspicious,  and  impressive,  his  voice 
clear  and  distinct,  and  his  action  natural  and  becoming.  From  all  we 
have  seen  or  heard,  we  have  no  doubt  but  the  Bishop  will  greatly  aid, 
both  by  his  preaching  and  example,  the  cause  of  religion  in  this  place. 
We  have  in  our  little  city  a  Presbyterian,  a  Methodist,  and  a  Baptist 
Church,  all  of  which  are  respectably  attended.  It  is  understood  that 
an  Episcopal  Church  will  be  built  so  soon  as  arrangements  can  be 
made  for  the  purpose." 

It  was  on  December  20,  1823,  that  Bishop  Ravenscroft  became 
a  resident  of  Raleigh,  though  he  had  done  some  work  in  the 
Diocese  before  that  time.  Having  no  house  of  worship  in  Ra- 
leigh in  which  to  hold  services,  he  rented,  in  1824,  an  abandoned 
theatre  called  "The  Museum,"  which  stood  on  the  north-east 
corner  of  Fayetteville  and  Martin  streets,  and  there  officiated 
for  some  time.  Prior  to  the  time  when  George  "W.  Freeman 
entered  the  ministry,  that  gentleman  (who  also  taught  school) 
acted  as  a  lay  reader  when  Bishop  Ravenscroft  was  absent  from 
Raleigh.  Describing  affairs  in  Raleigh,  in  his  report  to  the 
Diocesan  Convention  of  1824,  Bishop  Ravenscroft  said:  "The 
services  are  well  attended,  in  a  building  rented  and  fitted  up  for 
the  purpose ;  and,  under  all  the  disadvantages  of  frequent  inter- 
ruptions in  the  regular  duties  of  the  Sabbath,  from  my  other 
duties  to  the  Diocese,  it  is  evident  that  the  Episcopal  cause  is 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  61 

gaining  ground;  and,  what  is  more,  that  the  cause  of  religion  is 
progressing.  A  Aveekly  evening  lecture,  at  the  private  houses  of 
members,  is  respectably  attended.  .  .  .  The  number  of 
communicants  is  about  twenty-five,  though,  from  various  cir- 
cumstances, they  have  never  all  been  present  at  one  administra- 
tion of  the  holy  sacrament.  The  number  of  members  of  the  con- 
gregation, declared  as  such,  is  thirty-five." 

In  1826,  the  congregation  in  Kaleigh  arranged  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  wooden  building  on  the  lot  where  Christ  Church  now 
stands.  The  contract  therefor  was  awarded  to  Captain  William 
Nichols,  an  architect  who  had  come  to  Raleigh  to  re-model  the 
old  Capitol,  which  was  later  burned.  The  Raleigh  Register,  of 
November  1,  1826,  contained  this  item: 

"The  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  this  city  have  purchased 
a  site  on  which  to  erect  a  new  church,  and  have  contracted  with  Mr. 
W.  Nichols  to  build  it.  The  land  was  obtained  from  William  Boylau, 
Esq.,  and  is  situated  in  an  elevated  and  central  part  of  the  citj',  at 
the  corner  of  Wilmington  and  Edenton  streets.  The  church  will 
front  on  the  Capitol  Square.  The  work  will  be  immediately  com- 
menced ;  and.  from  the  acknowledged  talents  of  the  architect,  we  have 
no  doubt  this  church  will  be  an  ornament  to  the  city.  We  regret  that 
it  will  not  be  erected  with  a  less  perishable  material.  It  is  to  be  a 
frame  building." 

The  above  quoted  newspaper,  on  Thursday,  December  24, 
1829,  announced  the  consecration  of  the  above  building  as  fol- 
lows: 

"On  Sunday  last  [December  20th]  the  new  edifice  recently  erected 
for  the  use  of  the  Episcopal  congregation  in  this  city  was  consecrated 
to  the  service  of  Almightj^  God  by  the  Right  Reverend  J.  S.  Ravens- 
croft,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  The  Reverend  Mr.  Goodman,  of  New 
Bern,  and  the  Reverend  Mr.  Green,  of  Hillsborough,  were  also  preseut 
on  the  occasion.  At  11  o'clock  the  Bishop  and  Clergy  appeared, 
attended  by  the  Vestry,  who  repeated  the  24th  Psalm  in  alternate 
verses  as  they  proceeded  up  the  aisle  to  the  chancel,  where  the  Bishop 
and  Clergy  entered.  A  very  excellent  and  appropriate  sermon  was 
delivered  by  the  Bishop  to  a  crowded  auditoiy  from  I.  Kings,  VI.,  11 
and  12,  'And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Solomon,  saying :  Concern- 
ing the  house  which  thou  art  buildmg,  if  thou  wilt  walk  in  my 
statutes,  and  execute  my  judgments,  and  keep  all  my  commandments 
to  walk  in  them,  then  will  I  perform  my  word  with  thee  which  I 
spake  unto  David  thy  father,'  " 


62  Bishops  of  ]!^okth  Cakolina. 

The  consecration  sermon,  just  alluded  to,  is  still  preserved, 
being  published  in  the  collected  sermons  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft, 
the  first  edition  of  which  was  issued  in  1830,  just  after  his  death. 
The  above  wooden  church  did  not  occupy  the  exact  spot  now 
adorned  by  Christ  Church.  It  was  a  little  to  the  northward,  but 
on  the  same  lot. 

Bishop  Ravenscroft  continued  his  double  duties  as  Bishop  of 
North  Carolina  and  Rector  of  Christ  Church  until  March,  1828. 
Then  he  removed  to  Granville  County,  and  the  Raleigh  pas- 
torate was  turned  over  to  the  Reverend  Charles  P.  Elliott,  a 
South  Carolinian,  who  served  one  year  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Reverend  George  W.  Freeman.  The  clergyman  last  named  offi- 
ciated in  Raleigh  many  years,  beginning  in  September,  1829, 
and  ending  in  184-0,  when  he  gave  place  to  the  Reverend  Richard 
Sharpe  Mason,  who  was  Rector  until  his  death,  on  the  21st  of 
February,  1874.  Doctor  Mason's  successor  was  the  Reverend 
Matthias  Murray  Marshall,  D.  D.,  upon  whose  resignation,  in 
1907,  the  Reverend  Milton  Augustus  Barber  became  Rector. 

It  was  in  1833,  during  Doctor  Freeman's  pastorate,  that  an 
organ  was  first  placed  in  Christ  Church,  and  there  is  a  tradition 
in  Raleigh  that  this  innovation  was  regarded  by  many  of  the 
natives  as  rank  sacrilege. 

On  December  28,*  1848  (some  years  after  Bishop  Ravens- 
croft's  death),  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  Christ  Church,  a 
beautiful  granite  edifice,  was  laid;  and  this  Avas  completed  in 
a  few  years,  though  it  was  some  time  before  the  tower  was 
added.  On  January  5,  1854,  this  new  church  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Atkinson,  assisted  by  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Richard 
Sharpe  Mason  (Rector  of  the  parish),  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire, 
Aldert  Smedes,  Fordyce  Mitchell  Hubbard,  Aaron  Frank  Olm- 
sted, and  Richard  Henry  Mason.  The  plan  of  the  ne-^^-  building 
was  dra"um  by  Richard  Upjohn,  an  eminent  architect,  who  de- 

*Iu  giving  date  as  December  28th,  I  follow  statement  iu  the  Bishop's 
Journal  and  contemporaneous  newspaper  accounts,  though  the  corner- 
stone itself  is  marked  December  12th.  It  may  be  that  after  the  date 
had  been  cut  on  the  granite,  the  ceremony,  for  some  cause,  had  to  be 
postponed  until  the  28th. 


Bishops  of  XoKiir  Cakoi.ina.  63 

signed  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  nnd  many  other  sacred  edi- 
fices throughout  America. 

As  we  have  digressed  far  enough  in  telling  of  Christ  Church, 
we  shall  now  endeavor  to  speak  further  of  the  general  work  of 
Bishop  Ravenscroft  tliroughout  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina. 

Bishop  Eavenscroft's  journals  are  all  printed  in  the  early  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Diocesan  Conventions,  and  they  recount  many 
most  interesting  experiences  during  his  various  visitations.  One 
entry  says:  "On  the  next  day  [April  27,  1825,]  opportunity  was 
taken  to  pay  a  visit  to  Mrs.  Pettigrew,  the  aged  widow  of  the 
Eeverend  Mr.  Pettigrew,  formerly  Bishop-elect  of  this  Diocese. 
To  this  I  was  prompted  as  well  by  my  own  feelings  as  by  the 
respect  conceived  to  be  due  from  the  Diocese  at  large  to  the  relict 
of  one  who  was  thought  Avorthy  to  preside  over  the  interests  of 
this  branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  which  I  felt  perfectly 
sure  it  would  be  pleased  to  manifest  through  its  present  repre- 
sentative. To  this  venerable  lady  the  attention  thus  shown  was 
most  grateful,  and  none  the  less  so  from  being  altogether  un- 
looked  for,  while  to  myself  it  was  more  than  gratifying,  because 
to  the  satisfaction  arising  from  the  performance  of  what  is  be- 
lieved to  be  a  duty  was  added  the  assurance  that  the  Church  has 
yet  many  friends  remaining  in  that  immediate  neighborhood, 
who  want  only  the  opportunity  to  return  again  to  those  services 
in  which  they  were  raised,  but  of  which  they  have  long  been 
deprived.  They  have  a  neat  little  church,  in  perfect  repair, 
built  by  Mr.  Pettigrew,  in  which  the  Methodists  occasionally 
officiate,  and  on  whose  ministrations  the  members  of  the  Church 
are  compelled  by  necessity  to  attend."  In  another  Convention 
Journal,  for  October  21,  1827,  we  find  this  entry:  "At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  services  I  administered  the  sacrament  of  holy  bap- 
tism to  Turner  Wilson,  a  qualified  adult,  by  immersion  in  Eden- 
ton  Bay — this  mode  being  preferred  by  him  and  readily  assented 
to  by  me,  both  as  Scriptural  and  authorized  by  the  Rubric.  The 
ceremony  was  witnessed  by  a  goodly  number  of  spectators,  and 
it  is  greatly  to  be  wished  that  such  calls  were  more  frequent 


64  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

upon  our  clergy,  whichever  mode  shall  be  preferred  for  its  ad- 
ministration."   For  August  12,  1827,  we  find  an  entry  by  Bishop 
Ravenscroft  as  follows :  "I  embraced  the  opportunity,  which  the 
short  distance  from  the  place  rendered  favorable,  to  visit  the 
sister  church  of  the  Moravian  brethren  at  Salem.    To  this  I  was 
induced  by  the  desire  to  obtain  information  from  personal  ob- 
servation and  by  the  wish  to  manifest  the  regard  for  a  body  of 
Christian  confessors,  episcopally  derived  and  constituted,  which 
brethren  of  the  same  family  owe  to  each  other.     These  motives 
were  frankly  stated  to  their  chief  pastor.  Bishop  Benade,  with 
the  presbyters  and  deacons  present,  and  the  wish  expressed  that, 
as  we  were  the  only  Episcopal  Protestant  Churches  in  the  State, 
indeed  in  the  United  States,  such  Christian  intercourse  might  be 
established  between  us  as  was  calculated  to  extend  Christian  fel- 
lowship, in  every  way  consistent  with  independence  as  distinct 
ecclesiastical  bodies.     This  declaration  was  favorably  received 
by  the  Bishop  and  his  clergy  and  every  attention  shewed  me, 
consistent  with  the  extra  services  of  a  centenary  commemoration 
of  some  remarkable  event  in  their  history.    I  was  much  pleased 
with  the  neatness,  simplicity  and  uniformity  of  attire,  and  with 
the  order  and  decorum,  extending  even  to  the  children,  which 
was  exhibited  by  a  very  large  congregation,  and  with  which  all 
the  services  were  conducted;  and  was  most  favorably  impressed 
with  the  fervent  simplicity  of  manner  and  animated  fluency  of 
address  which  marked  the  delivery  of  the  Bishop's  sermon  on 
the  occasion,  and  I  have  only  to  regret  that  my  ignorance  of  the 
German  language  precluded  the  edification  I  doubt  not  it  con- 
tained.   At  the  conclusion  of  the  night  service  we  took  leave  of 
each  other,  with  expressions  of  Christian  regard,  and  with  the 
desire  on  my  part  of  a  more  intimate  acquaintance  as  Christian 
brethren."    The  Moravian  centennial  anniversary,  alluded  to  by 
Bishop  Ravenscroft  in  the  above  extract  from  his  journal,  was 
one  which  fell  on  August  13th;  but,  on  this  occasion,  it  was 
observed  on  the  preceding  day  (Sunday),  the  reason  given  in 
the  Moravian  church  diary  being  that  "in  this  town  [Salem] 


Bishops  of  Nouth  Carolina.  65 

Sunday  is  the  day  most  free  from  interniptions  and  Monday  the 
most  disturbed."  The  same  diary  says:  "An  additional  distinc- 
tion of  the  day  was  the  presence  of  the  Governor  of  our  State, 
Mr.  Burton,  and  of  the  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  England  in 
N'orth  Carolina,  Mr.  Kavenscroft,  who  came  on  a  visit.  Both 
attended  the  early  service,  and  accepted  the  invitation  to  the 
Love-feast ;  and  the  latter,  at  his  OAvn  request,  took  part  in  the 
celebration  of  the  Holy  Communion."  As  to  the  nature  of  the 
event  commemorated  at  Salem  in  1827,  we  quote  from  a  mono- 
graph by  Miss  Adelaide  L.  Fries  in  a  work  entitled  A  Brief  His- 
tory of  the  Moravian  Church  the  following :  "August  13th  is  a 
special  memorial  day  for  all  the  communicant  congregation, 
commemorating  the  experiences  of  the  Moravian  settlers  in 
Herrnhut,  at  a  communion  held  in  Berthelsdorf,  August  13th, 
1727.  The  signal  blessing  there  received  had  so  great  an  effect 
upon  them  that  it  is  considered  the  spiritual  birthday  of  the 
renewed  Unitas  Fratrum — the  Moravian  Church." 

In  addition  to  the  events  and  personal  experiences  already 
mentioned  as  having  been  recorded  in  Bishop  Ravenscroft's  jour- 
nal, numerous  other  matters  are  there  noted :  how  churches  and 
chapels  were  consecrated,  and  ministers  ordained;  how  divine 
services  were  held  in  court-houses.  Masonic  lodge  rooms,  and 
other  buildings  where  no  religious  edifices  could  be  found — and 
other  matters  of  similar  interest.  In  the  proceedings  of  the 
Diocesan  Convention  of  1828,  Bishop  Kavenscroft  tells  of  the 
ordination  to  the  priesthood  of  George  W.  Freeman,  James  H. 
Otey,  and  Francis  L.  Hawks — all  names  afterwards  famous  in 
the  annals  of  the  American  Church,  the  first  two  becoming 
Bishops,  while  Doctor  Hawks  was  one  of  the  greatest  pulpit 
orators  of  the  age  in  which  ho  lived,  besides  being  a  distin- 
guished historian.  He  was  an  older  brother  of  the  Right  Rev- 
erend Cicero  Stephens  Hawks,  Bishop  of  Missouri.  Another 
brother,  also  in  holy  orders,  was  the  Reverend  William  jSTassau 
Hawks,  who  faithfully  labored  for  many  years  in  JSTorth  Caro- 
lina ;  and,  at  the  time  of  his  death  (just  after  the  War  Between 


66  Bishops  of  ISTortii  Carolina. 

tlio    States),    was    Eector    of    Trinity    Church    in    Columbus, 
Georgia. 

The  people  of  our  own  generation,  who  are  often  deterred  by 
a  little  inclemency  of  the  weather  from  walking  a  few  blocks 
over  well-paved  streets  to  attend  divine  service,  may  well  look 
back  with  wonder  and  awe  to  the  terrible  hardships  borne  by  the 
clergy  of  the  Church  in  the  early  days  of  the  republic.  In 
activity  and  fiery  zeal,  Bishop  Ravenscroft  ranked  second  to 
none.  Some  mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  habitual 
exposure  to  all  kinds  of  weather — the  scorching  heat  of  August 
and  the  deep  snows  of  mid-winter — to  which  he  subjected  him- 
self while  in  Virginia.  This  was  repeated  in  ISTorth  Carolina 
after  his  elevation  to  the  Episcopate,  with  the  difference  that  the 
scene  of  his  labors  was  a  much  greater  territory,  for  the  single 
diocese  then  stretched  east  and  west  over  five  hundred  miles. 
'Nov  did  he  confine  his  labors  to  ISTorth  Carolina.  ISTot  until 
after  Bavenscroft's  death  did  Tennessee  have  his  beloved  pupil, 
James  H.  Otey,  as  its  first  Bishop,  yet  that  young  State  was  not 
entirely  destitute  of  the  services  of  Bishops  of  the  Church  from 
several  dioceses.  On  June  13,  1829,  by  the  primitive  modes  of 
travel  then  the  only  ones  available,  Bishop  Eavenscroft  left  his 
home  at  Williamsborough,  in  Granville  County,  and  journeyed 
over  the  mountains  into  Tennessee ;  thence,  part  of  the  way  by 
old-fashioned  steamboats,  through  Kentucky  to  a  session  of  the 
General  Convention  which  met  in  August  of  that  year  at  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  his  journey  (going  and  returning)  cover- 
ing sixteen  hundred  miles.  At  each  stopping  place  in  the  scat- 
tered settlements  throughout  this  long  and  tedious  journey,  he 
would  proclaim  the  Gospel,  baptize  and  confirm.  His  stentorian 
tones  must  have  seemed  almost  literally  as  the  voice  of  one  cry- 
ing in  the  wilderness,  ''Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord;  maJce 
his  paths  straight."  He  was  very  favorably  impressed  with  Ten- 
nessee, and  gave  it  credit  for  having  within  its  borders  a  bet- 
ter class  of  people  than  those  who  lived  either  in  his  native 
State  of  Virginia  or  his  adopted  State  of  ISTorth  Carolina.    Said 


Bisiioi's  OF  XoRTH  Carolina.  67 

he:  "The  people  are  orderly  and  civil  iu  their  deportment,  and 
certainly  more  civilized  and  intelligent  in  their  appearance  and 
conversation  than  the  same  class  of  men  in  Virginia  and  I^orth 
Carolina.  As  proof  of  this,  I  met  with  but  one  drunken  man  in 
Tennessee.  He  Avas  a  Northern  man,  a  mechanic,  who  got  into 
the  stage  at  Ne"v\T)ort  for  Knoxville ;  and  next  day  he  took  \ery 
kindly  the  reproof  and  admonition  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  give." 

As  to  the  nature  of  the  "reproof  and  admonition"  which 
Bishop  Ravenscroft  gave  to  the  above-mentioned  worthy,  we 
find  some  record  in  the  sketch  of  Ravenscroft 's  life  by  Bishop 
Green.  When  the  intoxicated  passenger  came  into  the  coach 
where  the  other  travellers  Avere  pleasantly  conversing,  he  was 
very  abusive  and  profane,  whereupon  Ravenscroft  remonstrated 
with  him  in  a  spirit  of  fatherly  kindness  and  asked  him  not  to 
use  such  language.  This  only  stirred  the  obstreperous  individual 
into  even  greater  profanity,  when  the  Bishop  again  courteously 
requested  him  to  desist  from  such  speech.  This  second  request 
brought  forth  language  more  outrageous  still,  when  Ravenscroft 
violently  brought  his  hand  down  upon  the  offender's  shoulder 
and  in  his  most  terrific  tones  exclaimed :  "Utter  another  oath, 
sir,  if  you  dare,  and  I  will  throw  you  under  the  wheels  of  this 
coach !"  A  clap  of  thunder,  says  Green,  could  not  more  effect- 
ually have  silenced  the  frightened  creature,  for  he  sat  meekly  in 
his  place  during  the  remainder  of  the  night's  journey,  occasion- 
ally stealing  timid  side-glances  at  his  formidable-looking  neigh- 
bor "to  see,"  as  Ravenscroft  himself  afterwards  said,  "whether 
it  was  a  human  being  or  a  grizzly  bear  that  had  so  growled  at 
him  and  laid  so  huge  a  paw  upon  his  shoulder."  At  sunrise  he 
left  the  coach,  but  first  humbly  apologized  to  the  i)assengcrs; 
then,  turning  to  the  Bishop,  he  said:  "Sir,  I  particularly  ask 
your  pardon,  and  thank  you  for  stopping  me  as  you  did."  He 
added  that  he  was  not  an  habitual  drinker;  but,  on  the  pre- 
ceding day,  had  met  with  some  old  friends  and  made  a  fool  of 
himself.  Much  affected  by  this  apology,  Ravenscroft  said :  "My 
friend,  I  freely  forgive  you,  but   remember  there   is   One  up 


68  Bishops  or  J^orth  Caeolina. 

there,"  pointing  heavenward,  ''from  wliom  you  must  yet  receive 
pardon — and  strength  also,  if  you  wish  to  be  a  better  man." 
Then,  giving  him  a  cordial  shake  of  the  hand  in  parting,  he 
added :   "I  hope  you  will  find  all  well  at  home." 

During  his  visit  to  Philadelphia,  in  the  Summer  of  1829, 
Bishop  Ravenscroft  underwent  two  surgical  operations,  and 
these  caused  a  temporary  improvement  in  his  health. 

While  sojourning  in  Tennessee  in  1829,  Bishop  Ravenscroft 
aided  in  forming  a  diocese  out  of  that  State.  His  journal  says : 
"On  the  first  of  July,  deputies  from  the  different  Episcopal  con- 
gregations in  Tennessee  met  in  I^ashville,  according  to  previous 
notice,  in  order  to  frame  a  constitution  for  the  Church,  enact 
canons,  and  organize  a  diocese.  Having  succeeded  in  forming 
a  convention,  a  deputation  was  directed  to  present  to  me  a  reso- 
lution of  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies,  requesting  me 
to  preside  over  their  deliberations,  which  was  duly  acknowledged 
and  acceded  to  on  my  part,  and  the  business  conducted  to  a 
happy  conclusion — deputies  being  elected  to  attend  the  ensuing 
General  Convention  of  the  Church,  and  to  request  admission  for 
the  newly  organized  diocese  into  the  general  union  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States." 

After  spending  some  days  in  church  work  at  several  points  in 
Tennessee  with  Doctor  Otey,  later  Bishop  (who  had  studied  the- 
ology under  him).  Bishop  Ravenscroft  resumed  his  journey 
toward  Philadelphia  by  way  of  Kentucky.  On  two  diiferent 
occasions,  less  than  three  days  apart,  he  administered  the  rite  of 
confirmation  to  nearly  a  hundred  persons  in  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky, on  the  26th  and  28th  of  July,  1829.  In  the  following 
November,  Bishop  Brownell,  of  Connecticut,  confirmed  nearly 
seventy  in  Lexington  and  Louisville.  In  the  succeeding  year, 
the  Right  Reverend  "William  Meade,  then  Assistant  Bishop  of 
Virginia  (and  afterwards  full  Bishop),  visited  Kentucky  and 
confirmed  between  seventy-five  and  a  hundred.  By  1832  Ken- 
tucky had  a  Bishop  of  its  own,  in  the  person  of  the  Right  Rev- 
erend Benjamin  Bosworth  Smith,  afterwards  Presiding  Bishop 


Bishops  of  Noeth  Cakolina.  69 

of  the  American  Church.  The  aforementioned  Bishop  Brownell 
(one  of  the  consecrators  of  Bishop  Ravenseroft)  was  president 
of  Trinity  College,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  did  much  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  South,  making  several  long  tours  for  that 
purpose.  In  the  "Winter  of  1829-'30,  he  went  on  an  extended 
journey,  travelling  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  to 
New  Orleans,  and  returned  by  way  of  Raleigh,  where  he  and 
his  companion,  the  Reverend  "William  Richmond,  of  !N"ew  York, 
paid  a  visit  to  Bishop  Ravenseroft  during  his  last  illness,  on 
February  25,  1830. 

North  Carolina  Churchmen  in  the  days  of  Bishop  Ravenseroft, 
as  well  as  before  and  after  his  time,  were  noted  for  the  care  and 
pains  which  they  bestowed  upon  the  religious  instruction  of 
their  slaves.  Frequent  reference  to  this  class  of  work  may  be 
found  in  the  journals  of  the  Diocesan  Conventions,  and  a  few 
extracts  may  be  of  interest.  In  his  report  to  the  Convention  of 
1825,  the  Reverend  Richard  Sharpe  Mason,  then  Rector  of 
Christ  Church  in  'New  Bern,  said :  "The  Rector  of  this  Church 
still  continues  his  chatechetical  instructions  and  lectures  on  the 
Scriptures  for  the  benefit  of  the  coloured  people."  Alluding  to 
work  among  the  negroes  belonging  to  Judge  Duncan  Cameron, 
in  Orange  County,  the  Reverend  "William  Mercer  Green,  in  1827, 
reported :  "At  Judge  Cameron's  the  baptisms  have  been  twenty- 
six  children,  only  one  of  which  was  white.  The  chapel  erected 
by  Judge  Cameron  will  soon  be  prepared  for  consecration.  It 
is  a  neat  and  pleasant  place  of  worship,  and  reflects  much  credit 
on  the  individual  by  whom  it  has  been  erected.  The  congrega- 
tion here  consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  coloured  people."  In 
1830,  the  Reverend  Thomas  Wright,  then  laboring  in  Rowan 
and  Anson  counties,  referred  to  the  above  class  of  work  at  Salis- 
bury in  these  words :  "The  Sunday  School  continues  to  prosper, 
and  by  some  of  its  teachers  a  number  of  black  people  are  also 
instructed."  Of  the  later  work  of  the  Church  for  the  betterment 
of  the  negroes,  both  before  and  after  their  emancipation,  we 
shall  take  occasion  to  speak  in  the  sketches  of  Bishops  Ives, 
Atkinson,  and  Lyman. 


70  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

From  the  indomitable  energy  and  unflagging  devotion  with 
which  Bishop  Ravenscroft  discharged  the  duties  of  his  oflice,  one 
might  be  led  to  suppose  that  he  was  a  strong  and  robust  man; 
and  so  he  had  been  in  his  younger  days,  but  years  of  toil  and 
exposure  had  done  him  some  injury  even  before  he  left  Virginia. 
He  was  seldom  a  well  man  for  any  length  of  time  after  his 
arrival  in  North  Carolina.  Yet  he  would  never  let  ordinary 
sickness  interrupt  his  service  to  God.  Often  he  would  spend  one 
day  in  bed,  racked  by  painful  illness;  and,  in  less  than  twenty- 
four  hours,  would  again  be  in  the  pulpit,  delivering  an  earnest 
and  forceful  discourse.  But  there  is  a  limit  to  all  human  endur- 
ance, and  he  eventually  fell  a  sacrifice  to  his  zeal ;  yet  no  mur- 
mur escaped  him  in  consequence  of  any  pain  or  bereavement. 
As  already  stated,  he  resigned  as  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  in 
Raleigh,  during  the  Spring  of  1828.  Shortly  thereafter  he 
removed  his  residence  to  the  town  of  Williamsborough,  in  Gran- 
ville County,  where  he  officiated  as  Rector  of  Saint  John's 
Church  for  a  short  while.  In  the  last-mentioned  town  his  wife 
died,  January  15,  1829.  His  first  wife  (born  Burwell),  to  whom 
allusion  has  been  made  on  a  previous  page,  had  died  in  Virginia 
in  1814.  In  1818,  four  yeai"s  later,  he  married  Sarah  Buford,  of 
Lunenburg  County,  Virginia,  and  this  lady  accompanied  him  to 
JSTorth  Carolina,  where  she  was  greatly  beloved  by  all  classes. 
Referring  to  her  death,  the  Raleigh  Register,  on  January  20th,  a 
few  days  after  that  event,  said : 

"An  acquaintance  of  some  yeai's  with  this  estimable  lady,  during 
her  residence  in  this  city,  enables  us  to  bear  testimony  to  the  piety 
and  virtue  of  the  deceased.  Of  mild  and  endearing  manners,  and  of 
a  friendly  disposition,  Mrs.  Ravenscroft  was  esteemed  by  her  neigh- 
bors, and  beloved  in  no  common  degree  by  her  friends  and  connections. 
She  had  no  children,  but  her  loss  will  be  irreparable  to  her  kind  and 
indulgent  husband." 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Ravenscroft  was  indeed  a  severe  blow  to 
her  husband— one  which  visibly  affected  the  remaining  months 
of  his  stay  on  earth — but  it  relieved  his  mind  of  one  painful 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  71 

thought :  he  might  now  go  hence  with  no  anxiety  concerning  her 
worldly  welfare ;  for  practically  all  of  his  fortune  was  now  gone, 
and  he  could  have  left  little  or  nothing  for  her  maintenance  and 
support  had  she  survived  him.  A  touching  scene  occurred  at  her 
burial.  When  the  officiating  clergyman  was  performing  the  last 
rites,  we  are  told,  and  was  about  to  read  the  sentence  of  com- 
mittal, the  Bishop  insisted  upon  doing  this  himself;  but,  when 
he  came  to  the  words  "earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to 
dust,"  his  voice  became  choked,  and  his  whole  frame  was  so 
shaken  by  emotion  that  it  was  feared  he  would  fall  into  the 
grave. 

"Writing  to  his  mother,  in  September,  1828,  Bishop  Ravens- 
croft  said:  "The  effects  of  climate,  with  the  fatigue,  exposure, 
and  mental  labor  inseparable  from  my  office  in  the  Church,  have 
made  an  infirm  old  man  of  me  in  my  57th  year." 

After  the  death  of  his  wife,  Bishop  Ravenscroft  disposed  of 
his  landed  property  in  Williamsborough  and  sent  the  greater 
part  of  his  personal  effects  to  Fayetteville,  v\^ith  the  intention  of 
taking  up  his  abode  in  the  latter  town ;  but,  before  doing  so,  he 
accepted  an  invitation  to  spend  a  few  months  as  the  guest  of  a 
highly  esteemed  friend,  Gavin  Hogg,  in  Raleigh.  There  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  end  of  his  earthly  career  was  fast  ap- 
proaching, and  he  met  death  with  the  same  fearless  faith  in  God 
which  had  so  long  characterized  his  life.  Yet  self -righteousness 
and  over-confidence  formed  no  part  of  his  character.  Ten  days 
before  his  death,  when  Bishop  Brownell  and  the  Reverend  Doc- 
tor Richmond  paid  him  the  visit  already  alluded  to,  they  found 
him  "humbly  waiting  for  deliverance  from  pain  and  sin,  through 
the  merits  of  an  all-sufficient  Savior."  He  often  declared  that  it 
was  only  as  a  pardoned  sinner  that  he  hoped  for  salvation.  His 
tranquillity  itself,  in  his  last  illness,  awakened  in  his  thoughtful 
mind  the  suggestion,  to  quote  his  own  words,  that  "Satan  thinks 
himself  sure  of  me,  and  therefore  lets  me  alone."  In  his  closing 
hours  he  had  every  attention  which  loving  hands  could  bestow. 
He  also  received  much  spiritual  comfort  from  the  ministrations 


72  Bishops  of  jSTorth  Carolina. 

of  the  Reverend  George  W.  Freeman.  Once  during  his  last  ill- 
ness he  received  the  Holy  Communion,  and  had  arranged  to  do 
so  again;  but,  when  the  time  appointed  therefor  came,  he  said 
that  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  partake  discerningly  and  hence 
must  forego  the  privilege,  as  he  held  no  superstitious  ideas  re- 
specting the  Eucharist  in  itself.  To  those  who  had  assembled  in 
an  adjoining  room  to  partake  with  him,  he  sent  the  message : 
"Though  I  am  denied  the  privilege  of  shouting  the  praises  of 
redeeming  love  once  more  with  them,  around  the  table  of  our 
common  Lord,  yet  I  will  commune  with  them  in  the  spirit." 

Bishop  Ravenscroft  prepared  for  his  departure  from  earth  by 
a  systematic  arrangement  of  his  business  affairs  as  well  as  spirit- 
ual concerns.  First  he  asked  the  vestry  of  Christ  Church  for  a 
burial  place  beneath  its  chancel,  then  secured  brick  and  person- 
ally instructed  the  workmen  as  to  the  proper  manner  of  enclos- 
ing his  coiSn  in  a  small  vault;  he  directed  that  the  coffin  itself 
should  be  made  of  plain  pine  wood,  stained  black,  and  without 
ornamentation  of  any  kind;  that  his  remains  should  be  drawn 
to  the  place  of  burial  by  his  old  horse,  "Pleasant,"  led  by  John- 
son, a  faithful  slave;  that  the  burial  service  should  be  read  by 
the  Reverend  George  W.  Freeman,  Rector  of  Christ  Church,  and 
that  no  funeral  sermon  should  be  preached.  These  instructions 
were  faithfully  carried  out.  Bishop  Ravenscroft  was  not  quite 
fifty-eight  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  on 
the  5th  of  March,  1830.  In  announcing  that  event,  the  Raleigh 
Register,  of  March  8th,  said: 

"Died  :  lu  this  city  ou  Friday  morning  last,  at  the  residence  of 
Gavin  Hogg,  Esq..  the  Right  Reverend  John  Staek  Ravenscroft, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  North  Carolina, 
in  the  o8th  year  of  his  age.  During  a  long  illness,  which  from  the 
first  he  was  persuaded  was  a  'sickness  unto  death,'  he  manifested  a 
perfect  Christian  resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  and  looked  forward 
to  his  approaching  dissolution  with  a  calmness  and  intrepidity  in- 
spired only  by  an  unwavering  faith  and  a  steadfast  hope  in  the  mercy 
of  God,  through  the  atonement  of  Christ.  Retaining  his  confidence  in 
the  principles,  which  he  had  so  ably  maintained,  unimpaired  to  the 
last,  and  exhibiting  in  his  conversation  and  deportment  an  impressive 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  73 

example  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel — in  the  full  possession  of  his 
I'oasoii,  he  resigned  his  soul  unto  the  hands  of  his  Redeemer  and  his 
God.  and  thus  closed  his  Christian  course  in  a  manner  becoming  the 
eminent  character  which  he  had  sustained  as  a  Minister  of  Jesus 
Christ.  On  Saturday  evening  his  remains  were  attended  by  a  very 
numerous  collection  of  the  citizens  to  the  Episcopal  Church  and  in- 
terred within  the  chancel — the  burial  services  being  performed  by  the 
RevenMid  George  W.  Freeman,  Rector  of  the  Church." 

The  will  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  is  now  filed  in  the  records  of 
Wake  County.  He  bequeathed  his  hooks  and  pamphlets  to  the 
Diocese  for  the  commencement  of  a  library  at  Raleigh  for  the 
use  of  both  clergy  and  laity,  said  library  to  be  kept  in  the  cus- 
tody of  his  successors  in  the  office  of  Bishop.  Certain  papers, 
sermons,  etc.,  he  left  to  the  "Episcopal  Bible,  Common  Prayer 
Book,  Tract  and  Missionary  Society  of  the  Diocese  of  North 
Carolina,"  with  instructions  to  publish  the  same  if  the  Society 
so  desired;  he  also  named  upwards  of  twenty  clerg;yTnen  and 
laymen  in  eight  or  ten  dioceses  to  whom  he  wshed  copies  sent, 
as  well  as  to  every  clergyman  within  the  Diocese  of  North  Caro- 
lina. Some  family  heirlooms  (jewelry,  etc.)  which  had  be- 
longed to  his  father  he  bequeathed  to  his  mother,  Mrs.  Lillias 
Stewart  of  Cairnsmore,  near  Newton  Stewart,  in  Scotland,  with 
the  request  that  she  leave  them  to  her  grand-daughter,  Lillias 
Craig.  To  his  brother-in-law,  Alexander  Craig,  of  Edinburgh, 
he  directed  that  five  copies  of  his  works  (if  they  should  be 
printed)  should  be  sent  for  distribution  am.ong  his  relatives  in 
Scotland.  He  also  directed  that  a  copy  of  the  same  should  be  sent 
to  the  Honorable  and  Right  Reverend  Charles  James  Stewart, 
Lord  Bishop  of  Quebec,  in  Canada;  another  he  bequeathed  to 
the  eminent  American  statesman,  Henry  Clay.  Small  legacies 
and  keepsakes  were  left  to  numerous  friends,  including  two 
of  his  adopted  children,  Alexander  McHarg  Hepburn  and  Ebe- 
nezer  McHarg  Hepburn,  of  Lunenburg  County,  Virginia,  the 
latter  being  appointed  executor,  with  the  provision  that  he 
should  not  be  required  to  give  bond.  The  Bishop's  slave,  John- 
son, and  even  his  horse,  "Pleasant,"  were  objects  of  solicitude 
in  his  last  hours,  and  both  of  these  he  bequeathed  to  his  two 


74  Bishops  of  E"orth  Carolina. 

adopted  sons  above  mentioned,  saying:  "I  believe  they  will  be 
kind  to  Johnson  for  my  sake,  keeping  him  from  idleness  and 
vice,  but  suiting  his  labor  to  his  infirm  condition ;  and  that  they 
will  not  suffer  Pleasant  to  be  exposed  to  any  hardship  or  want 
in  his  old  age,  but  will  allow  Johnson  to  attend  to  him  as  he 
has  been  accustomed  to  do." 

It  was  also  provided  in  the  above  will  that  should  any  residue 
remain  after  the  settlement  of  the  estate,  it  should  go  to  a  fund 
for  the  support  of  the  Episcopate  in  I^orth  Carolina;  but  it  is 
not  likely  that  the  Diocese  received  any  benefit  from  this  pro- 
vision as  Bishop  Eavenscroft  was  in  straitened  circumstances 
at  the  time  of  his  death. 

As  already  stated,  the  remains  of  Bishop  Eavenscroft  were 
interred  beneath  the  chancel  of  Christ  Church  in  Ealeigh.  This 
church,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was  a  wooden  building,  but 
later  was  moved  away  to  give  place  to  the  present  beautiful 
granite  structure.  Though  on  the  same  lot,  the  present  church 
is  not  on  the  exact  spot  where  the  old  one  stood,  and  hence  it 
was  necessary  to  disinter  the  Bishop's  body  in  order  to  place  it 
beneath  the  chancel  where  it  now  rests,  awaiting  the  resurrec- 
tion— while  above  his  mortal  remains,  almost  daily,  resound  the 
sacred  services  which  he  loved  so  well. 

In  the  present  Christ  Church  is  a  tablet  (probably  taken  from 
the  old  building)  which  in  memory  of  Bishop  Eavenscroft  bears 
a  Latin  inscription  as  follows : 


Bisirors  of  TsTouTir  Cakolina.  75 

JOHANNES  STAKK  RAVENSCROFT,  S.  T.  D., 

Ecclesiae  Reformae 

EPISCOPUS, 

et  primus  qui 

intra  Carolinse  Septentrionalis  Diaeces  in 

sumnio  sacerdotio  ornatus 

Res  sacras  Procuravit. 

Natus  XVII.  Maii,  Anno  Salutis  MDCCLXXII., 

EPISCOPATUI  CONSECRATUS 

XXII.  Maii,  An.  Sal.  MDCCCXXIII., 

Obit  V.  Martii,  An.  Sal.  MDCCCXXX. 

The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  or  Doctor  of  Sacred  Theol- 
ogy (Sacrae  Theologiae  Doctor)  was  conferred  upon  Bishop 
Ravenscroft  by  three  well-known  institutions  of  learning :  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  College  (his  alma  mater),  in  Virginia;  Colum- 
bia College,  in  New  York;  and  the  University  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 

The  death  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  caused  general  sorrow;  and 
solemn  services  were  held  in  his  memory  throughout  the  Diocese. 
Christ  Church  in  Raleigh  was  draped  with  black,  and  its  con- 
gregation wore  badges  of  mourning  throughout  Lent ;  but,  in 
accordance  with  his  request,  no  funeral  sermon  was  preached. 
Similar  action,  with  the  addition  of  memorial  sermons,  was 
taken  by  Saint  James's  Church  in  Wilmington  and  Saint  John's 
Church  in  Fayetteville.  Saint  Matthew's  Church  in  Hills- 
borough, Christ  Church  in  New  Bern,  and  Saint  Peter's  in 
Washington,  were  also  draped,  while  their  congregations  wore 
crape  badges  and  observed  the  19th  of  March  as  a  day  of  fast- 
ing, humiliation  and  prayer,  on  account  of  the  great  blow  which 
had  fallen  on  the  Church.  In  May,  1830,  a  few  months  after 
the  Bishop's  death,  a  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  North  Caro- 
lina was  held  at  Wilmington.  That  body  passed  suitable  me- 
morial resolutions,  and  directed  that  a  committee  be  appointed 
to  address  a  letter  of  condolence  to  the  aged  mother  of  the  de- 


76  Bishops  of  North  Cakolina. 

ceased,  then  residing  in  Scotland.  In  Ihe  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  State  of  the  Church  it  was  said :  "Since  the  last 
meeting  of  the  Convention,  the  members  of  this  portion  of  the 
Church  of  God  have  been  called  to  mourn  the  death  of  their 
beloved  and  venerated  Diocesan.  Removed  from  this  scene  of 
affliction  and  suffering,  in  which  he  had  displayed  the  fearless 
and  devoted  zeal  of  an  Apostle  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  evidenced 
a  signal  union  of  the  evangelical  graces  of  our  holy  religion 
and  the  unshaken  courage  of  a  Champion  of  the  Cross,  he  has 
been  translated  to  that  rest  in  heaven  which  is  prepared  for  the 
Saints,  and  to  a  communion  of  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  per- 
fect in  the  Church  Triumphant.  .  .  .  To  record  the  bless- 
ings which  his  apostolic  ministry  has,  through  the  divine  favor, 
secured  to  this  Diocese,  is  a  task  for  which  your  committee  con- 
fess themselves  incapable.  His  praise  is  emphatically  in  all  the 
churches.  Within  this  Episcopate  every  altar  has  been  enlarged 
and  its  votaries  increased.  Under  his  spiritual  guidance  many 
wanderers  have  been  gathered  into  the  fold  of  salvation ;  and 
multitudes,  who  were  famishing  for  the  pure  fountains,  have 
drunk  and  been  satisfied." 

In  a  letter  of  condolence  addressed  to  the  mother  of  Bishop 
Ravenscroft,  Mrs.  Gavin  Hogg,  of  Raleigh,  wrote  on  April  4, 
1830,  saying  of  the  deceased :  "I  understand  from  others,  better 
qualified  than  I  am  to  judge,  that  as  a  preacher  he  was  without 
a  rival  in  the  United  States."  Mrs.  Hogg  adds :  "The  Diocese 
of  ISTorth  Carolina,  and  indeed  the  whole  Church  in  the  United 
States,  considered  his  death  a  great  public  misfortune." 

In  personal  appearance  Bishop  Ravenscroft  has  been  de- 
scribed, by  one  who  knew  him  well,  as  a  man  of  lofty  presence, 
with  an  eye  piercing  and  full  of  command.  In  his  manner 
(says  the  same  account)  there  was  an  apparent  austerity,  which 
sprang,  for  the  most  part,  from  the  strength  of  his  mental  con- 
ceptions and  the  forcible  language  in  which  he  expressed  them. 
His  features,  however,  were  regular ;  and,  when  he  smiled,  there 
was  a  transitory  sweetness  in  his  look  which  bore  a  striking 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  77 

contrast  to  the  usual  appearance  of  severity  on  his  countenance. 
In  a  letter  written  by  him  in  1806  he  luentious  his  own  weight 
as  two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  In  height  he  was  slightly 
over  six  feet.  He  had  heavy,  overhanging  eyebrows,  and  was 
accustomed  to  call  them  his  "dormer  windows."  In  1880,  Mau- 
rice Q.  Waddell,  a  venerable  citizen  of  Pittsboro,  North  Caro- 
lina, spoke  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft's  personal  apparel  as  follows : 
"His  dress  was  plain  and  always  made  in  the  fashion  worn  by 
gentlemen  of  the  period  of  the  Eevolution.  His  coat  was  of 
black  cloth,  his  knee-pants  of  the  same  material,  and  his  stock- 
ings usually  deep  gray  in  color  and  ribbed.  In  "winter  he  wore 
boots,  reaching  above  the  calf  of  his  leg;  but,  in  summer,  these 
gave  place  to  shoes  buckled  over  the  instep.  His  linen  was  spot- 
less; he  always  Avore  an  old-fashioned  stock,  pleated  at  the  neck 
and  fastened  at  the  back  with  a  silver  buckle.  In  his  robes,  his 
appearance  was  truly  apostolic,  and  he  looked  a  fit  companion 
for  the  three  hundred  and  eighteen  Bishops  of  the  Council  of 
Nice."  * 

Mr.  Waddell  also  speaks  of  an  occasion  when  Bishop  Raven- 
scroft  was  traveling  by  stage  in  Virginia  (after  he  had  become 
a  resident  of  North  Carolina)  and  became  involved  in  a  doc- 
trinal controversy  with  two  Presbyterian  clergymen.  Neither 
side  was  convinced,  but  they  argued  from  3  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing till  daylight.  When  the  stage  rolled  into  a  town  on  the 
route  their  dispute  had  grown  so  heated  that  people  stopped  on 
the  streets  to  see  what  the  excitement  in  the  coach  was  about. 
On  observing  that  they  were  thus  attracting  attention,  the  elder 
of  the  two  Presbyterians  observed  that  the  argument  could  bet- 
ter be  concluded  in  a  less  public  place,  adding:  "I  am  Joseph 
Caldwell,  President  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina."  To 
this  his  fellow-traveler  replied:  "And  I,  sir,  am  John  Siark 
Ravenscroft,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina."  It  was 
the  first  time  these  distinguished  gentlemen  had  ever  met.    Doc- 

*  C'hiinli  Messenger  (Winston,  N.  C),  June  29,  1880. 


78  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

tor  Caldwell  liad  become  much  prejudiced  against  tlie  Bishop, 
Avhom  he  considered  an  intruder  upon  the  ecclesiastical  field  in 
ISTorth  Carolina  and  a  proclaimer  of  strange  doctrines. 

On  another  occasion,  says  Mr.  Waddell,  Bishop  Ravenscroft 
was  the  guest  of  Colonel  William  Polk,  of  Baleigh;  and  in  the 
course  of  a  conversation  the  Colonel  asked  if  it  were  not  prob- 
able that  a  man  of  clean  living  and  high  morality  would  get  to 
heaven  by  those  means  alone.  "'No,  sir,"  answered  the  Bishop, 
"he  would  go  straight  to  hell."  One  of  Colonel  Polk's  sons, 
Leonidas,  later  became  one  of  the  greatest  Bishops  in  the  Ameri- 
can Church. 

Bishop  Ravenscroft's  outspoken  utterances  were  not  always 
in  keeping  with  the  usages  of  polite  society.  At  a  dinner  party, 
w^here  he  was  present,  one  of  the  guests  was  telling  of  some  re- 
markable occurrences  which  he  claimed  to  have  seen,  and  those 
who  heard  his  assertions  were  courteously  endeavoring  to  con- 
ceal their  incredulity,  when  suddenly  the  company  was  startled 
by  the  Bishop's  bringing  his  hand  down  upon  the  table  and 
fiercely  exclaiming :   "That,  sir,  is  a  lie,  and  you  hnoiu  it !" 

Among  the  acquaintances  made  by  Bishop  Ravenscroft  soon 
after  he  came  to  ISTorth  Carolina  was  Judge  Leonard  Henderson, 
later  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In  his  earlier  years 
Judge  Henderson  was  one — 

"Of  whom  'twas  said  he  scarce  received 
For  gospel  what  the  church  believed." 

But  later  his  views  underwent  a  change  for  the  better.  The 
former  sentiments  of  the  Chief  Justice  were  known  to  Bishop 
Ravenscroft  though  he  had  not  heard  of  the  happy  change  which 
had  taken  place  in  the  mind  of  that  eminent  jurist.  Upon  going 
to  Williamsborough,  in  Granville  County,  the  Bishop  asked  who 
composed  the  vestry  of  Saint  John's  Church.  Among  others 
Henderson's  name  was  mentioned.  Upon  hearing  this,  Raven- 
scroft was  not  slow  to  express  his  indignation.  "Why,  sir.  Judge 
Henderson  is  a  pillar  in  the  Church,"  answered  his  informant. 


Bishops  of  N^outh  Cakolixa.  79 

"A  pillar!"  exclaimed  ihe  Bishop,  "it  would  be  better  to  have  a 
caterpillar  I"  Judge  Henderson  went  to  hear  Bishop  Ravenscroft 
just  once  after  his  ministry  in  Williamsborough  began;  and, 
when  asked  by  a  friend  why  he  had  ceased  his  attendance  at 
church,  answered,  with  his  nearest  approach  to  an  oath :  "By 
blood,  sir,  I  couldn't  stand  it !  Wh}^  that  man  poured  the 
whole  of  his  sermon  right  down  into  my  pew,  and  didn't  seem 
to  have  a  word  for  anybody  else."  On  another  occasion  says 
Bishop  Green  (who  relates  the  last-mentioned  anecdote)  tliis 
same  Chief  Justice  was  called  upon  for  a  toast  and  responded: 
"Gentlemen,  I  give  you  Bishop  Ravenscroft — the  St.  Paul  of 
the  South,  except  in  being  all  things  to  all  men." 

In  his  continuation  of  the  elder  Doctor  Drane's  Historical 
Notices  of  St.  James's  Parish,  Wilmington,  the  late  Colonel 
James  G.  Burr  gives  some  personal  reminiscences  of  Bishop 
Ravenscroft.  On  one  occasion,  says  he,  the  Bishop  made  a  visi- 
tation to  that  parish,  and  the  Sunday  School  classes  were  ranged 
around  the  chancel  to  be  catechised  by  him.  The  children  stood 
trembling  and  abashed  before  his  august  presence;  and,  upon 
noticing  this  trepidation,  he  spoke  to  them  in  so  kind  and  gentle 
a  manner  as  not  only  to  restore  their  self-possession  but  to  com- 
pletely win  their  confidence.  Later  on  in  the  monograph  just 
quoted,  it  is  said  of  Ravenscroft :  "He  would  not  tolerate  the 
least  irreverence  in  church,  it  made  no  difference  who  the  offend- 
ing parties  might  be;  whether  high  or  low,  male  or  female,  the 
reproof  was  direct,  and  in  language  too  plain  to  be  misunder- 
stood." Irreverence  in  church  was  indeed  an  abomination  in  the 
eyes  of  Ravenscroft.  When  he  was  a  parish  priest  in  Virginia 
two  young  men  of  fashion  once  entered  his  church  and  pro- 
ceeded to  entertain  each  other  in  very  audible  whispers.  After 
bearing  this  for  a  while,  Mr.  Ravenscroft  paused  in  his  services 
long  enough  to  say  that  he  Avould  be  glad  if  there  were  less  talk- 
ing among  the  congregation.  This  silenced  the  two  for  a  few 
moments  only;  and,  when  they  resumed  their  conversation  so  as 
to  distract  the  attention  of  the  worshippers,  Ravenscroft  pointed 


80  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

directly  at  the  offenders  and  said :  "I  will  thank  those  yoimg 
men  in  that  peAV  to  keep  silence  while  the  Word  of  God  is  being 
preached."  Stung  by  this  rebuke  they  sprang  from  their  seats 
and  angrily  left  the  church.  Outside,  they  held  a  consultation 
and  determined  that  nothing  short  of  a  cudgelling  would  avenge 
the  affront  they  had  received,  so  each  cut  a  heavy  stick  from  a 
near-by  thicket  and  waited  for  the  object  of  their  resentment. 
At  length  the  congregation  was  dismissed,  and  a  little  later  Mr. 
Ravenscroft  made  his  appearance.  One  of  the  young  men  had 
posted  himself  behind  the  church  and  there  waited  for  his  com- 
panion to  bring  the  offending  clergyman.  Upon  being  told  by 
the  other  that  he  wished  to  see  him  back  of  the  church,  Raven- 
scroft  accompanied  him  without  question.  After  his  arrival, 
there  was  an  awkward  pause,  which  was  at  last  broken  by  Mr. 
Ravenscroft  himself  who  asked  what  they  wished.  One  of  them 
then  summoned  up  enough  courage  to  say  that  he  had  insulted 
them  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  congregation  and  they  de- 
manded an  instant  apology.  Upon  hearing  this,  Ravenscroft 
drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height  of  more  than  six  feet  and 
thundered  forth  an  "apology"  in  language  to  the  following 
effect:  "Boys,  I  am  ashamed  of  you,  and  you  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  yourselves !  You  are  shaming  your  parents,  too, 
for  they  have  taught  you  better  than  this.  Jim,  you  are  the  son 
of  a  good  old  Presbyterian  elder,  who  would  be  grieved  to  know 
how  you  have  behaved.  As  for  you.  Jack,  you  have  had  church 
training  and  ought  to  know  better.  "What  would  your  mother 
think  if  she  could  see  you  as  you  are  at  this  moment  ?  Go  home, 
boys,  go  home ! — and  when  you  come  to  church  again  try  to  act 
like  Christians  and  behave  like  gentlemen."  When  Ravenscroft 
had  finished  this  outburst  the  two  young  men  cast  frightened 
looks  at  each  other,  dropped  their  sticks,  and  hastily  departed. 
An  anecdote  characteristic  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  is  given 
in  the  sketches  by  both  ITorton  and  Green.  He  was  once  holding 
services  in  Virginia,  and  had  begun  saying  the  Creed,  when  he 
observed  that  none  of  the  congregation  seemed  disposed  to  join 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  81 

in  repeating  it.  Turning  his  Prayer  Book  over  on  the  desk 
before  liim,  he  fixed  a  look  of  mingled  surprise  and  trouble  on 
the  congregation,  and  asked :  "Brethren,  am  I  in  the  midst  of 
heathens  or  Christians?  Can  it  be  possible  that  there  is  no  man 
or  Avoman  present  who  'believes  in  God  the  Father  Almighty, 
Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  V  "  Then  he  began  the  Creed  over 
again,  when  his  second  rendition  was  fairly  drowned  by  the 
mingled  voices  of  every  man,  woman  and  child  present.  Xot 
long  after  this  (continues  Bishop  Green)  he  endeared  himself 
to  the  same  congregation  by  a  little  act  of  thoughtfulness.  Just 
after  he  had  begun  his  sermon  a  black  cloud  appeared  in  the 
heavens,  threatening  a  heavy  downpour  of  rain.  Most  of  the 
congregation,  men  and  women  alike,  had  come  from  a  distance 
on  horseback,  and  they  began  looking  wistfully  out  of  the  win- 
dows at  their  saddles,  but  not  one  moved  from  a  pew,  so  greatly 
did  they  stand  in  awe  of  the  formidable  looking  man  who  stood 
before  them.  Observing  the  cause  of  their  uneasiness,  Raven- 
scroft  said,  in  the  kindest  of  tones :  "My  friends,  I  shall  pause 
five  minutes  in  my  discourse  to  enable  you  to  take  care  of  your 
saddles."  The  saddles  were  tucked  high  and  dry  under  the 
church,  and  the  members  of  the  congregation  were  back  in  their 
seats  before  the  allotted  five  minutes  had  expired. 

Of  the  many  anecdotes  which  the  last  quoted  Avriter  has  re- 
corded of  Ravenscroft  is  one  of  an  experience  which  the  latter 
related  when  asked  if  he  had  ever  lost  his  self-possession.  Such 
a  misfortune  had  befallen  him,  he  said,  when  the  pulpit  of  Saint 
John's  Church,  in  Washington  City,  had  "run  away  with  him." 
It  seems  that  the  pulpit  in  question  had  small  wheels  under  ir, 
so  that  it  could  be  moved  aside  on  communion  occasions.  "When 
I  was  preaching  there  one  Sunday,"  said  Bishop  Ravenscroft, 
"seeing  so  many  'big  folks'  before  me,  I  thought  that  I  would  be 
big  too,  and  accordingly  I  put  a  little  additional  powder  in  my 
gun.  In  the  middle  of  the  sermon,  when  all  eyes  were  directed 
towards  me,  I  unfortunately  lifted  my  hand  somewhat  higher 
than  usual,  which  gave  the  pulpit  a  start,  and  away  it  went,  ap- 


82  Bishops  of  INorth  Carolina. 

parently  bent  on  settling  in  the  midst  of  the  foremost  pews, 
crowded  with  ladies.  It  was  a  bare  moment,  however,  before  its 
progress  was  arrested  by  the  rail  of  the  chancel,  but  during  that 
moment  the  church  presented  a  singular  scene,  the  women 
screaming  and  the  men  springing  from  their  seats  with  hands 
uplifted  to  stop  the  strange  thing." 

Just  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  a  school  was  estab- 
lished at  Fajetteville  and  called  Ravenscroft  Academy  in  his 
honor.  It  was  incorporated  by  chapter  147  of  the  Laws  of 
1831-'32.  The  board  of  trustees  named  in  this  act  were  Charles 
P.  Mallett,  Charles  Stuart,  Charles  T.  Haigh,  John  W.  Wright 
and  Robert  Strange.  How  long  the  school  lasted  we  are  un- 
able to  state.  Many  years  afterwards  there  was  a  school  for 
boys  founded  at  Asheville  and  called  Ravenscroft  School,  but 
this  has  discontinued  operations  also.  Some  account  of  it  will 
be  given  later  on  in  this  work.  At  the  time  of  the  establishment 
of  Saint  Mary's  School  in  Raleigh  (some  mention  of  which  will 
later  be  made  in  the  sketch  of  Bishop  Ives),  its  campus  was 
called  Ravenscroft  Grove — a  name  which  may  have  been  given 
it  before  that  time,  when  the  same  site  was  occupied  by  the 
Episcopal  School  for  Boys.  Though  the  grove  no  longer  goes 
by  that  name,  the  Bishop's  house  (therein  situated)  which  was 
built  in  1903,  has  been  given  the  name  "Ravenscroft"  by  Bishop 
Cheshire,  its  first  occupant. 

While  North  Carolina  has  been  thus  honoring  the  memory 
of  Bishop  Ravenscroft,  he  has  not  been  forgotten  in  Tennessee. 
In  his  History  of  the  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  Tennessee,  the 
Reverend  Arthur  Howard  Noll  says  that  the  first  church  build- 
ing erected  in  the  Western  District  of  that  State  was  Raven- 
scroft Chapel,  built  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Alston  near  his  residence,  five 
miles  east  of  Randolph  in  Tipton  County.  This  building  was 
consecrated  by  Bishop  Otey  on  the  23d  of  October,  1836.  The 
Alstons  were  from  North  Carolina  and  had  then  recently  set- 
tled in  Tipton  County.  Later  on  in  the  above-mentioned  work 
Mr.  Noll  refers  to  Ravenscroft   Chapel,  and  to   Saint  John's 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  83 

Church  in  Maury  County  (the  latter  built  by  the  Polks,  an- 
other family  from  North  Carolina),  as  two  examples  of  planta- 
tion churches  built  with  the  religious  needs  of  the  negro 
slaves  in  view.  At  the  Sunday  morning  services  in  these 
churches,  after  all  the  white  communicants  had  received  the 
elements,  it  was  not  an  uncommon  sight  (says  the  writer  last 
quoted)  to  see  the  altar-rail  thronged  with  negroes,  partaking 
with  reverence  of  the  soul-nourishing  food  of  the  Body  and 
Blood  of  Christ.  Ravenscroft  Chapel  was  in  ruins  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  but  was  later  restored  and  is  still  in  use.  From  Mr. 
Noll's  work  we  also  learn  that  in  the  Winter  of  1848-'49  Bishop 
Otey  established  an  institution  near  Columbia  and  named  it 
Ravenscroft  College.  This  was  afterwards  closed  for  lack  of 
funds.  , 

In  the  parlor  of  Saint  Mary's  School,  at  Raleigh,  there  is  a 
handsome  full-length  oil  portrait  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft,  painted 
by  Jacob  Eichholtz,  a  celebrated  Philadelphia  artist,  who  in 
his  day  made  portraits  of  many  famous  Americans,  including 
John  Marshall,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States;  Nicholas  Biddle,  President  of  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  and  others  of  scarcely  less  note.  Another  oil 
portrait  of  Ravenscroft  (bust  size)  was  presented  by  the  Bishop 
to  Senator  Haywood ;  and,  after  the  latter's  death,  his  children 
gave  it  to  the  Diocese.  It  is  now  in  the  See  House  at  Raleigh. 
Another  (probably  the  first  which  Eichholtz  made  of  Raven- 
scroft) was  o^vned  by  the  late  Bishop  Green  of  Mississippi. 
The  large  portrait  at  Saint  Mary's  was  painted  by  order  of 
Charles  P.  Mallett,  senior  warden  of  Saint  John's  Church  at 
Fayetteville,  being  begun  in  1829  and  finished  in  1830.  It  was 
obtained  from  that  gentleman  some  years  before  the  War  be- 
tween the  States  by  the  Rector  of  Saint  Mary's,  Reverend  Aldert 
Smedes. 

Bishop  Green  (before  he  was  elevated  to  the  Episcopate)  was 
with  Ravenscroft  in  Philadelphia  when  Eichholtz  painted  the 
above  portraits.     Wishing  to  get  the  best,  several  studios  were 


84  Bishops  of  In'orth  Cakolixa. 

visited.  One  artist  Avas  so  much  struck  with  Eavenscroft's  ap- 
pearance that  he  told  Green  he  would  do  the  work  free  of  charge. 
This  offer  was  declined,  however,  and  Eichholtz  was  engaged. 
JSTot  long  afterwards  Bishop  Ravenscroft  preached  (in  Christ 
Church  at  Philadelphia)  a  sermon  of  uncommon  power,  which 
attracted  wide  and  favorable  comment.  Returning  from  serv- 
ices on  that  occasion  he  asked  Green,  in  great  disgust :  "Did 
you  see  that  rascal  in  church?"  In  some  surprise  his  companion 
asked  whom  he  meant.  "Why  that  fellow  Eichholtz,"  answered 
the  Bishop,  "for  I  know  he  came  there  not  so  much  to  worship 
God  as  to  look  at  me."  And  it  was  even  so,  for  (as  the  artist 
himself  afterwards  said)  he  had  seated  himself  in  the  center 
of  the  Church  to  get  the  Bishop's  spirit  and  expression  as  he 
appeared  in  the  chancel  and  pulpit.  Those  who  have  seen  his 
work  cannot  doubt  that  he  succeeded. 

In  the  Fall  of  1830,  some  months  after  Bishop  Ravenscroft 
died,  a  two-volume  edition  of  his  sermons  was  published  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Press,  ISTew  York,  the  first  volume  con- 
taining a  steel  engraving  from  one  of  the  Eichholtz  portraits. 
This  work  was  edited  by  the  Reverend  Jonathan  Mayhew  Wain- 
wright,  afterwards  Provisional  Bishop  of  N^ew  York.  There  is 
also  in  the  first  volume  a  memoir  of  Ravenscroft  by  Yfalker 
Anderson,  in  later  years  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Florida.  I^either  the  names  of  Wainwright  nor  Anderson,  how- 
ever, appear  on  the  title  page  or  elsewhere  in  the  work.  A 
second  edition  of  these  sermons  (without  portrait)  was  pub- 
lished by  E.  J.  Hale  &  Company,  Fayetteville,  N^orth  Carolina, 
1856,  the  cost  of  issuing  it  being  partly  paid  with  money  real- 
ized from  a  bequest  in  the  will  of  John  W.  Wright,  of  Fayette- 
ville, who  was  for  many  years  treasurer  of  the  Diocese.  The 
second  edition  is  lessened  in  value  by  some  of  Bishop  Raven- 
scroft's  strongest  doctrinal  arguments  being  left  out,  notably 
his  discourse  entitled  The  Doctrines  of  the  Church  Vindicated, 
a  reply  to  Doctor  John  H.  Rice.  The  latter  tract,  though  writ- 
ten in  a  rather  fierce  spirit   (perhaps  justified  by  the  attacks 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  85 

■which  brought  it  forth),  was  one  of  the  strongest  arguments, 
if  not  the  strongest,  ever  made  by  the  Bishop  in  support  of  the 
doctrines  which  he  proclaimed.  In  addition  to  the  controversy 
with  Doctor  Rice,  Bishop  Ravenscroft  had  several  others,  in- 
cluding one  with  a  Bible  Society  in  Raleigh.  With  regard  to 
the  latter,  it  was  occasioned  by  the  Bishop's  conviction  that  the 
Bible  could  not  be  profitably  studied  without  a  teacher.  He 
delivered  a  sermon,  upholding  his  views,  from  the  text :  "And 
Philip  ran  thither  to  him  and  heard  him  read  the  prophet 
Esaias,  and  said,  Understandest  thou  what  thou  readest  ?  And 
he  said,  How  can  I,  except  some  man  should  guide  me?"  No 
man  more  strongly  advocated  constant  study  of  the  Scriptures 
than  did  Bishop  Ravenscroft ;  but  of  such  study,  without  intelli- 
gent instruction,  he  did  not  approve. 

In  1858  a  small  volume  of  152  pages,  entitled  the  Life  of 
Bishop  Ravenscroft,  by  the  Reverend  John  N.  Norton,  was 
published  in  New  York,  this  being  one  of  a  series  of  biographies 
of  xVmerican  Bishops  written  by  that  author.  It  is  dedicated: 
"To  Josiah  Collins,  Esq.,  of  Somerset  Place,  Lake  Scupper- 
noug.  North  Carolina,  as  a  Tribute  of  Respect  for  his  Distin- 
guished Abilities,  and  for  his  Devotion  to  the  Cause  of  the 
Church." 

In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned  memoirs  of  Bishop  Raven- 
scroft by  Norton  and  Anderson,  another  was  written  many 
years  later  by  one  of  Ravenscroft's  former  pupils.  Bishop  Green, 
of  Mississippi,  and  published  in  the  American  Church  Review 
of  January,  1871.  In  the  fifth  volume  of  a  work  published  in 
1859,  and  entitled  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit  (the  Reverend 
William  B.  Sprague,  compiler),  there  is  also  a  memoir  of  Bishop 
Ravenscroft,  this  being  based  upon  the  sketch  by  Anderson,  a 
letter  from  the  Reverend  Henry  M,  Mason,  and  data  furnished 
by  Edward  Lee  Winslow. 

It  would  be  a  difficult  task,  even  for  a  writer  of  ability  and 
discernment,  to  portray  the  personal  character  of  Bishop  Raven- 
scroft in  a  few  words,  and  it  seems  a  particularly  hopeless  under- 


86  Bishops  of  ]^I^oktii  Carolina. 

taking  for  the  author  of  the  present  sketch;  yet  a  few  lines  on 
this  point  cannot  with  propriety  be  omitted.  He  was  open  and 
frank  in  all  things.  To  a  friend  in  Philadelphia  he  declared: 
"There  is  not  a  thought  in  this  heart  of  mine  that  I  would  not 
be  willing  to  publish  from  the  steeple  of  Christ  Church  yonder." 
The  lust  for  gold,  or  for  power  (save  power  to  advance  the  king- 
dom of  Christ)  found  no  lodgment  in  his  breast.  It  was  once 
hinted  to  him  that  he  might  be  invited  to  a  diocese  much  larger 
than  the  one  of  which  he  was  Bishop,  and  to  this  he  replied  with 
much  heat :  "I  would  lose  my  right  arm,  sir,  sooner  than  set 
the  first  example  of  'translation'  in  the  American  Episcopate." 
No  Bishop  ever  more  dearly  loved  the  clergy  under  him  or  was 
more  loved  by  them  in  return.  He  often  spoke  of  them  as  if 
they  were  his  own  children.  "I  wouldn't  give  my  fourteen  boys 
for  your  whole  diocese"  was  his  declaration  to  the  Rector  of  a 
fashionable  church  in  l^ew  York.  The  Bishop  of  Mississippi, 
in  his  old  age,  nearly  half  a  century  after  Ravenscroft  had 
passed  away,  alluded  to  a  blessing  which  he  had  received  with 
almost  the  last  breath  of  his  beloved  chief  pastor,  saying:  "At 
this  moment  those  hands  still  seem  to  press  the  writer's  head; 
and  whatever  favor,  either  from  God  or  man,  may  since  have 
come  upon  him,  he  willingly  ascribes  in  good  part  to  the  benedic- 
tions of  that  dying  hour." 

Among  the  papers  of  the  Honorable  John  H.  Bryan,  now 
owned  by  the  jSTorth  Carolina  Historical  Commission,  is  a  letter 
to  his  wife,  dated  at  Raleigh,  December  26,  1824,  in  which  he 
says :  "I  heard  the  Bishop  deliver  a  sermon  to-day  which  I 
wish  you  could  have  also  heard.  He  was  so  much  affected  as 
to  burst  into  tears  and  sob  bitterly  when  he  alluded  to  his  past 
life  and  merciful  deliverance.  He  cautioned  parents,  and  par- 
ticularly mothers,  about  indulging  their  children  in  dress  and 
frivolous  pleasures,  and  thereby  vitiating  their  minds  and  cor- 
rupting their  hearts."  Judge  Henry  Ravenscroft  Bryan,  of 
New  Bern,  Worth  Carolina,  is  a  son  of  the  writer  of  the  above 
letter,  and  was  given  his  middle  name  as  a  compliment  to  Bishop 
Ravenscroft. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  87 

Though  much  tenderness  dwelt  in  his  heart,  tliere  never  lived 
a  man  Avho  was  more  fierce  in  the  denunciation  of  sin  than  was 
Bishop  Ravenscroft.  He  never  used  soft  phrases  with  which  to 
coax  his  hearers  into  the  paths  of  righteousness.  He  regarded 
the  authority  and  doctrines  of  the  church  of  his  choice  as  based 
upon  the  Word  of  God.  On  one  occasion  a  young  clergyman 
asked  the  Bishop  to  tell  him,  from  personal  experience,  what 
course  of  study  one  should  map  out  to  pursue  as  best  calculated 
to  promote  his  usefulness  in  the  ministry,  when  Ravenscroft 
pointed  to  the  Bible  and  replied:  "My  dear  boy,  nearly  all  of 
my  studies  have  been  confined  to  that ;  and  there  are  few  other 
books  w^hich  influence  my  religious  beliefs." 

Bishop  Ravenscroft  was  convinced  that  an  Episcopate,  with 
an  unbroken  succession,  was  absolutely  necessary  to  constitute 
an  apostolic  church;  and,  as  he  could  not  accept  the  doctrines 
of  Roman  Catholicism,  the  Moravian  Church  was  the  only  one 
then  existing  in  America  (excepting  his  own)  whose  ministry 
and  teachings  he  considered  orthodox.  "On  the  doctrine  of 
divine  right  in  the  ministry,"  he  said :  "i  hold  and  teach  that  it 
can  be  derived  only  from  the  Apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
by  succession  in  the  Church,  through  the  line  of  Bishops,  as  dis- 
tinct from  presbyters;  that  it  is  essential  to  the  validity  of  the 
Sacraments,  and  from  its  nature  incapable  of  any  gradation.  It 
is  either  divine  right  or  no  right  at  all :  I  therefore  know  noth- 
ing of  any  barometrical  measurement  into  high  and  low  Church; 
higher  than  its  source  I  attempt  not  to  cany  it — lower  than  its 
origin  I  will  not  degrade  it,  and  only  by  its  proper  proofs  will  I 
acknowledge  it."* 

Bishop  Ravenscroft's  fierce  and  sometimes  ungovernable 
temper  was  a  source  of  continual  mortification  to  himself;  and 
yet,  with  all  of  his  seemingly  imperious  manner,  he  w^ould 
meekly  receive  any  reproof  given  in  good  faith.  To  one  of  his 
clergy  w-ho  had  written  him  a  private  letter  in  loving  solicitude 
about  his  infirmity  in  the  above  respect,  he  replied :    "I  heartily 

*  Works  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  (edition  of  1830),  Vol.  I.,  p.  308. 


88  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

thaak  you  .  .  ,  and  shall  always  feel  obliged  by  every 
hint  which  may  keep  me  on  the  watch  against  its  injurious  in- 
fluence, and  by  every  prayer  which  may  prevail  for  grace  to 
enable  me  to  direct  it  aright."  On  another  occasion  he  said: 
"I  have  much  to  be  forgiven  of  God,  and  I  have  many  pardons 
also  to  ask  of  my  fellow-men  for  my  harshness  of  manner  to- 
wards them" — then,  striking  his  hand  upon  his  breast,  he  added, 
"but  there  has  been  no  harshness  here."  Indeed,  the  Bishop's 
love  for  his  fellow-men  was  second  only  to  his  love  for  God. 
Had  this  not  been  true,  he  would  have  remained  an  opulent 
planter  in  Virginia,  enjoying  earthly  pleasures  and  caring 
naught  for  endangered  souls,  instead  of  sacrificing  his  fortune 
and  shortening  his  life  by  never-ending  toils  and  privations  in 
the  holy  cause  of  religion.  But  the  ancient  promise  still  holds 
good,  that  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  the  sake  of  Christ 
shall  find  it — so  when  fortune,  health,  life  itself,  all  were  gone, 
a  brighter  existence  and  richer  inheritance  remained  for  this 
good  and  faithful  servant,  and  in  these  he  found  the  reward 
for  which  he  had  long  struggled  and  prayed. 


Bishop  Ives. 


LEVI     SILLIM  AN     IVES 
SECOND    BISHOP    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA 


LEVI  SILLIMAN"  IVES, 
Second  Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 

The  family  of  Ives  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  America.  Its 
founder,  William  Ives,  was  born  about  the  year  1607,  and  came 
to  New  England  in  the  ship  Truelove  in  1635.  As  early  as 
1639  we  find  him  recorded  as  one  of  the  freemen  of  the  colony 
of  New  Haven,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Connecticut.  He 
died  in  1648,  leaving  a  son  John.  The  latter  was  the  father  of 
another  John  (born  1669,  died  1738),  who  married  Mary  Gil- 
lette. John  Ives,  son  of  the  last  named,  married  Hannah  Royce, 
and  died  in  1795.  He  left  a  son  John  (fourth  of  that  name  in 
unbroken  descent),  who  was  born  in  1729  and  died  in  1816. 
Tliis  John  (fourth)  was  the  father  of  Levi  Ives  and  grand- 
father of  Bishop  Ives. 

Levi  Ives  (father  of  the  Bishop)  lived  for  some  years  in  his 
native  State  of  Connecticut,  where  he  married  Fanny  Silliman, 
member  of  a  noted  New  England  family.  Removing  with  his 
wife  and  children  from  Connecticut  about  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  he  settled  in  Lewis  County,  New  York,  and 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  latter  locality.  Later  he 
became  insane,  and  committed  suicide  by  drowning  himself  in 
a  creek  which  ran  through  his  farm.  Of  the  ten  children 
bereaved  by  this  tragic  event,  Levi  Silliman  Ives,  afterwards 
Bishop,  was  the  eldest,  and  to  his  personal  history  we  shall  now 
confine  this  sketch. 

The  Right  Reverend  Levi  Silliman  Ives,  S.  T.  D.,  LL.  D., 
second  Bishop  of  North  Carolina  and  twenty-fifth  in  the 
succession  of  the  American  Episcopate,  came  to  his  Bishop- 
ric in  1831,  upon  the  death  (in  the  preceding  year)  of  the 
Right  Reverend  John  Stark  Ravenscroft.  His  was  a  strange 
and  eventful  life,  devoted  throughout  to  the  service  of  God  and 
humanity,  yet  torn  by  varying  and  conflicting  doctrinal  beliefs — 
in  youth,  a  Presbyterian;  in  manhood,  an  Episcopalian;  and 


92  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

in  age,  a  Roman  Catholic.  He  was  born  on  the  16th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1797,  at  the  town  of  Meriden,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut. 
It  was  when  he  was  very  young  that  his  parents  removed  to 
Turin,  in  Lewis  County,  ISTew  York,  and  there  he  spent  his  child- 
hood and  youth,  enjoying  such  educational  advantages  as  the 
locality  afforded.  Later  he  was  a  student  in  the  academy  at 
Lowville,  in  Lewis  County.  Towards  the  close  of  the  War  of 
1812-'15,  when  little  more  than  a  youth,  he  served  for  a  brief 
period  with  the  troops  under  General  Pike.  Returning  to  the 
academy  at  Lovr^ille,  which  he  had  left  to  enter  the  army,  he 
resumed  his  studies  with  a  view  to  preparing  himself  for  college. 
As  already  stated,  he  had  been  reared  a  Presbyterian,  and  he 
now  determined  to  enter  the  ministry  of  that  denomination.  In 
1816  he  became  a  student  in  Hamilton  College,  at  Clinton, 
ISTew  York,  then  registering  from  Martinsburg  in  the  same 
State,  but  left  this  institution  in  less  than  a  year,  owing  to 
ill  health.  Shortly  thereafter  his  doctrinal  views  underwent 
their  first  change;  and,  in  1819,  he  began  a  course  of  study 
for  the  ministry  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  was 
destined  to  serve  with  marked  ability  until — after  the  lapse  of 
more  than  thirty  years — his  views  underwent  still  another 
change  and  he  became  a  Roman  Catholic.  In  1822  he  was 
ordered  deacon  by  Bishop  Hobart,  of  New  York;  and,  in  the 
year  following,  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  Bishop  White, 
of  Pennsylvania.  His  first  charge  was  in  a  missionary  station 
at  Batavia,  New  York;  afterwards  he  served  in  Pennsylva- 
nia as  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Philadelphia;  and  was  later 
Rector  of  Christ  Church  at  Lancaster,  in  the  same  State.  He 
went,  in  1827,  to  New  York  City  to  become  Assistant  Rector  of 
Christ  Church;  was  afterwards  Rector  of  Saint  Luke's  Church, 
in  the  same  place,  and  occupied  that  post  when  elected  Bishop 
of  North  Carolina  in  1831.  In  1825,  he  had  been  united  in 
marriage  with  Rebecca  Hobart,  a  daughter  of  the  Right  Rev- 
erend John  Henry  Hobart,  Bishop  of  New  York.  One  or  more 
children  were  born  of  this  union,  but  none  of  them  grew  to 
maturity. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  93 

As  has  already  been  stated  in  tlie  sketch  of  Bishop  Raveii- 
seroft's  life,  contained  in  the  present  work,  that  great  prelate 
died  on  the  5th  of  March,  1830.  Two  months  later,  in  May, 
the  Diocesan  Convention  of  N'orth  Carolina  met,  but  adjourned 
without  electing  his  successor.  During  the  succeeding  period, 
before  such  successor  was  chosen.  Bishop  Bowen,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, was  invited  to  exercise  the  duties  of  the  Episcopate  in 
North  Carolina,  and  he  consented  to  do  so ;  but  to  what  extent, 
if  any,  he  labored  there,  does  not  appear.  On  May  19,  1831, 
another  Diocesan  Convention  assembled,  its  meeting  place  being 
Christ  Church,  in  the  city  of  Raleigh.  In  that  body,  on  the 
following  Saturday  (May  21st),  the  ballot  for  Bishop  resulted 
in  the  unanimous  election  of  the  Reverend  Doctor  Ives.  There- 
upon the  Reverend  John  Avery,  Rector  of  Saint  Paul's  Church 
in  Edenton  and  President  of  the  Convention,  the  Reverend  John 
R.  Goodman,  Rector  of  Christ  Church  in  New  Bern,  and  one 
layman,  Mr.  Walker  Anderson  (afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Florida)  were  appointed  a  committee  to  pro- 
ceed to  New  York  and  formally  notify  Doctor  Ives  of  his  elec- 
tion. After  due  consideration,  this  call  was  accepted.  On  Sep- 
tember 22,  1831,  the  Bishop-elect  was  presented  in  Trinity 
Church,  Southwark,  Philadelphia,  and  there  duly  consecrated 
as  Bishop  of  North  Carolina  by  the  Right  Reverend  William 
White,  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Right  Reverend  Henry 
Ustick  Onderdonk,  Assistant  Bishop  of  the  same  Diocese,  and 
the  Right  Reverend  Benjamin  Tredwell  Onderdonk,  Bishop  of 
New  York. 

Returning  to  New  York  City  after  his  consecration.  Bishop 
Ives  remained  until  October,  1831,  when  he  set  out  for  North 
Carolina — arriving  at  Warrenton,  in  the  latter  State,  just  a 
week  later,  during  the  same  month.  From  a  religious,  educa- 
tional and  social  viewpoint,  in  1831,  Warrenton  had  few,  if  any, 
superiors  among  the  towns  of  North  Carolina ;  and,  for  a  short 
while  after  his  arrival,  Bishop  Ives  enjoyed  the  hospitality  for 
which  that  locality  has  always  been  noted.     He  did  not  tarry 


94  Bishops  of  ISToeth  Carolina. 

long,  however,  but  actively  began  the  duties  of  his  new  office, 
visiting  various  parts  of  the  Diocese  and  forming  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  people  among  whom  his  lot  had  been  cast.  His 
home,  while  in  ISTorth  Carolina,  was  part  of  the  time  in  Raleigh 
and  part  in  Salisbury.  He  also  spent  a  good  deal  of  his  time 
at  Valle  Crusis,  after  he  had  established  that  mountain  mission. 

In  February,  1832,  while  traveling  in  eastern  North  Caro- 
lina, Bishop  Ives  took  occasion  to  pay  his  respects  to  the  aged 
widow  of  Bishop-elect  Pettigrew— doubtless  being  impelled  to 
this  courtesy  by  the  same  sentiments  which  had  been  entertained 
by  Bishop  Eavenscroft  on  a  previous  occasion,  when  visiting 
that  lady,  as  heretofore  noted. 

As  has  already  been  mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  Bishop  Raveu- 
scroft,  the  Diocese  of  Tennessee  was  organized  during  his  visit 
to  that  State  in  1829,  and  he  presided  over  its  first  convention. 
It  was  not  until  1834,  however,  that  the  first  Bishop  of  Ten- 
nessee (the  Bight  Reverend  James  Hervey  Otey)  was  conse- 
crated. In  the  meantime.  Bishop  Ives  faithfully  labored  to  keep 
up  the  work  there  begun  by  his  predecessor.  Recounting  a  visit 
paid  there  in  the  Summer  of  1832,  he  said  that  he  could  not  let 
the  subject  pass  without  expressing  his  great  gratification  at  the 
daily  increasing  prosperity  of  the  Church  in  Tennessee,  at  its 
being  sustained  by  so  able  and  devoted  a  band  of  clergymen 
(though  far  too  small  for  its  wants),  and  at  the  kind  and 
friendly  attention  he  had  everywhere  received  during  a  visita- 
tion rendered  by  duty  much  shorter  than  he  would  have  wished 
to  make  it.  While  on  this  tour  through  Tennessee,  Bishop 
Ives  presided  over  the  fourth  Annual  Convention  of  that 
Diocese. 

In  October,  1832,  Bishop  Ives  attended  the  General  Conven- 
tion of  the  Church  in  New  York  City,  returning  to  North  Caro- 
lina in  the  month  following,  and  stopping  for  a  short  while  in 
Richmond  on  the  way.  Of  his  visit  to  the  city  last  named  he 
says:  "While  there,  in  consideration  of  the  bad  health  of  the 
Bishop  of  Virginia,  I  aided  him  in  the  examination  of  the  Rev- 


Bishops  ok  NoRTir  Carolixa.  05 

ereiicl  John  Burke,  formerly  a  presbyter  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  who  Avas  thereupon  admitted  to  officiate  in  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church."  The  Reverend  Mr.  Burke,  here 
nienlioned,  later  came  to  North  Carolina.  After  teaching  school 
for  a  while  in  the  town  of  Smithville  (now  called  Southport), 
in  Brunswick  County,  he  was  successively  Rector  of  Christ 
Church  in  New  Bern,  and  Calvary  Church  in  "Wadesboro.  He 
removed  to  South  Carolina  in  1839.  xVnother  acquisition  from 
the  Roman  Catholic  priesthood  is  mentioned  by  Bishop  Ives 
(in  his  address  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1843)  when  he 
said :  "The  Reverend  John  Fielding,  a  priest  of  the  Roman 
communion,  who  in  the  Spring  of  1840,  made  ap])lication  to 
me  to  be  admitted,  after  the  required  probation,  to  the  ministry 
of  the  Church,  has  been  transferred  to  the  Bishop  of  Georgia." 

In  January,  1833,  not  long  after  his  arrival  in  North  Caro- 
lina, Bishoj:*  Ives  visited  the  parish  of  Saint  James  in  Wilming- 
ton, the  famous  Orton  plantation  in  the  same  vicinity,  and  the 
ruins  of  Saint  Philip's  Church  on  the  site  of  the  old  town  of 
Brunswick.  "During  m^'^  visit  here,"  he  said  of  Wilmington,  "I 
spent  a  day  or  two  at  Orton,  the  seat  of  Dr.  Frederick  Hill,  and 
visited  the  walls  of  an  ante-Revolutionary  Church,  situated 
about  two  miles  distant,  amid  the  ruins  of  the  old  town  of  Bruns- 
wick. These  walls  .  .  .  are  in  a  state  of  almost  entire 
preservation ;  and,  by  being  newly  roofed  and  repaired,  would 
still  furnish  a  commodious  place  of  public  worship  to  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  neighboring  settlement.  My  intercourse  with  the 
congregation  of  St.  James  was  most  gratifying." 

As  his  predecessor  Bishop  Ravenscroft  had  been  before  him, 
and  as  all  succeeding  Bishops  of  the  Diocese  of  North  Caro- 
lina have  since  been.  Bishop  Ives  was  ever  ready  openly  to 
concede  the  apostolic  origin  of  the  Moravian  Church.  On  sev- 
eral occasions  he  visited  the  Moravian  settlements  in  and  around 
the  old  to\\Ti  of  Salem,  and  joined  with  their  Bishops  and  other 
clergy  in  conducting  public  worship.  After  speaking  of  a  visit 
to  that  community  in  the  Summer  of  1833,  he  adds:   ''I  did  not 


96  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

leave  them  without  receiving  additional  strength  to  my  former 
convictions  of  their  great  Christian  simplicity,  eminent  devo- 
tion to  the  Savior,  and  love  of  all  Christian  people,  especially 
our  apostolic  Church."  Of  another  visit,  nine  years  later,  he 
remarks:  "By  kind  invitation  of  the  Moravian  Bishop,  I 
preached  in  his  Church  at  Salem.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the 
delightful  fraternal  intercourse  I  had  with  the  hrethren  at  that 
place." 

In  1834,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  upon 
Bishop  Ives  by  the  University  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  he  being  the 
second  minister  of  the  Gospel  so  honored  by  that  institution. 
Several  years  before  that  date  (in  1831)  he  had  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Sacred  Theology  from  Columbia  College, 
ISTew  York. 

In  the  Spring  of  1835  Bishop  Ives  was  attacked  by  "an  alarm- 
ing and  obstinate  disease,"  and  obtained  from  his  Diocese  a 
leave  of  absence  which  he  spent  in  Europe.  While  sojourning 
in  Great  Britain  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  many  high  digni- 
taries of  the  Church  of  England.  This  tour  abroad  prevented 
his  attendance  upon  the  General  Convention  of  1835,  which 
was  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  To  the  Convention  last 
named  the  report  on  the  State  of  the  Church  in  North  Carolina 
said :  "The  Church  in  this  Diocese  has  its  peculiar  grounds  of 
anxiety,  in  the  severe  and  dangerous  affliction  of  its  chief  pastor. 
The  Bishop  is  now  in  Europe  in  pursuit  of  health,  while  many 
and  unceasing  prayers  are  offered  up  that  the  Divine  blessing 
may  succeed  this  last  measure  in  behalf  of  his  health  and  con- 
stitution." 

The  General  Conventions  which  Bishop  Ives  attended  during 
the  course  of  his  Episcopate  were  at  the  following  places  and 
dates :  At  Philadelphia  in  1832,  at  the  same  place  in  1838,  at 
New  York  in  1841,  at  Philadelphia  in  1844,  at  New  York  in 
1847,  and  at  Cincinnati  in  1850.  He  also  took  part  in  the  fol- 
lowing consecrations:  George  Washington  Doane,  as  Bishop 
of  New  Jersey,  October  31,  1832 ;  Stephen  Elliott,  as  Bishop 


Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina.  97 

of  Georgia,  February  28,  1841;  John  Johns,  as  Assistant  Bishop 
of  Virginia,  October  18,  1842 ;  and  Carlton  Chase,  as  Bishop  of 
^ew  Hampshire,  October  20,  1844.  The  above  Bishop  Elliott, 
of  Georgia,  was  succeeded  (after  his  death)  by  the  Right  Rev- 
erend John  "Watrous  Beckwith,  a  native  of  North  Carolina,  who 
had  been  ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  Bishop  Atkinson. 

Before  a  Diocese  had  been  established  in  Florida,  the  Diocese 
of  ^^Torth  Carolina  had  a  parish  (Christ  Church)  at  Pensacola, 
in  that  State.  For  many  years  the  Rector  of  Christ  Church, 
in  Pensacola,  was  the  Reverend  Joseph  H.  Saunders,  who  regu- 
larly reported  the  state  of  his  far  southern  parish  to  the  Dio- 
cesan Conventions  of  North  Carolina.  In  1838,  his  report  says 
that  Bishop  Kemper,  of  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  Missouri 
and  Indiana,  had  visited  Pensacola  and  had  consecrated  Christ 
Church — adding  that  Kemper  was  the  only  Bishop  who  had 
visited  the  middle  and  western  sections  of  Florida.  "In  January 
last,"  says  Saunders,  referring  to  the  year  1838,  "a  meeting  of 
the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Church  in  Florida  was  organized, 
the  primary  convention  thereof  held,  and  the  necessary  meas- 
ures adopted  to  obtain  admission  into  union  with  the  General 
Convention."  The  Reverend  Mr.  Saunders,  just  mentioned, 
was  father  of  the  great  North  Carolina  historian,  William  L. 
Saunders,  LL.D.,  another  one  of  his  children  being  Miss  Anne 
Saunders,  a  most  estimable  lady  who  was  connected  with  Saint 
Mary's  School  in  Raleigh  at  the  time  of  her  death  in  1906,  and 
for  twelve  years  prior  thereto. 

In  his  address  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1844,  Bishop 
Ives  stated  that  the  Reverend  R.  H.  Wilmer,  late  of  Virginia, 
had  become  Rector  of  Saint  James's  Church  in  "Wilmington, 
with  the  Reverend  George  T.  Wilmer,  a  deacon,  as  Assistant 
Rector.  The  first  of  these  was  afterwards  the  famous  Bishop 
of  Alabama,  who  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  the  only 
Bishop  consecrated  under  the  authority  of  the  "Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  Confederate  States  of  America."  He  was 
the  author  of  a  delightful  book  of  reminiscences  entitled  The 


98  Bishops  of  Nohth  Carolina. 

Recent  Past  from  a  Southern  Standpoint,  and  his  biograpliy 
v/as  afterwards  written  by  the  Keverend  Walter  C.  Whitaker, 
a  native  of  l^orth  Carolina.  Bishop  Wilmer's  father  was  a 
noted  clergyman  of  the  American  Church,  as  were  many  other 
members  of  his  family  connection,  including  the  Right  Reverend 
Joseph  P.  B.  Wilmer,  Bishop  of  Louisiana.  The  above-men- 
tioned pastorate,  in  Wilmington,  of  the  Reverend  Richard  H. 
Wilmer  was  not  of  many  months  duration. 

The  present  writer  has  seen  a  statement  that  Bishop  Ives  did 
much  religious  work  among  the  slave  population  of  North  Caro- 
lina, and  that  his  personal  popularity  greatly  suffered  thereby. 
The  first  part  of  this  statement  cannot  be  denied,  yet  the  second 
is  far  from  true.  It  has  never  been  the  policy  of  the  Church 
in  ISTorth  Carolina  to  withhold  spiritual  enlightenment  from  the 
negroes,  either  before  or  after  their  emancipation;  and,  instead 
of  being  a  pioneer  in  the  work,  Bishop  Ives  only  continued  a 
course  of  action  which  had  beeii  followed  by  his  Church  from 
the  beginning  of  its  existence  in  I^Torth  Carolina,  as  has  already 
been  shown.  When  addressing  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
1841,  concerning  work  among  the  plantation  negroes,  Bishop 
Ives  voiced  his  sentiments  as  follows :  "Lest  any  should  misap- 
prehend the  character  and  tendency  of  our  efforts  in  this  direc- 
tion, I  wish  it  distinctly  understood  that  everything  is  conducted 
with  strict  regard  to  the  legal  enactments  on  the  subject  and 
under  the  constant  supervision,  in  each  case,  of  the  planter  him- 
self. In  reference  also  to  our  exertions  hitherto,  so  far  as  we 
can  discern  it,  Ave  feel  warranted  in  affirming  it  to  be  decidedly 
favorable  to  subordination."  The  wealthiest  slave-holders  among 
the  laity  of  the  Church  in  I^Torth  Carolina,  some  owning  con- 
siderably more  than  a  thousand  negroes,  were  almost  always 
deeply  impressed  with  the  obligations  resting  upon  them  as 
masters,  and  among  these  we  may  enumerate  the  heads  of  such 
families  as  Collins,  Pettigrew,  Burgwyn,  Skinner,  Cameron, 
Smith  and  Bennehan.  Time  and  again  did  Bishop  Ives  place 
on  record  his  approbation  of  their  labors.      The   Collins   and 


BlSlIOI^S  OF  NOKTII  Cakolina.  09 

Pettigi-ew  families,   being  near  neiglibors,  worshiped  at  Petti- 
grcw's  Chapel ;  and  another  chapel  was  built  not  far  distant  for 
the  use  of  the  slaves,  both  houses  of  worship  being  under  the  care 
of  the  same  clergyman.     It  would  require  too  much  space  here 
to  re-print  the  numerous  references  by  Bishop  Ives  to  the  efforts 
of  Josiah  Collins  for  the  betterment  of  the  religious  condition 
of  the  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  slaves  on  his  extensive  planta- 
tions.    In   1846,   in   an   address  to   the   Diocesan   Convention, 
Bishop  Ives  described  a  recent  visit  to  that  gentleman  in  the 
following  glowing  language:     "I  Avent  by  the  request  of  my 
friend  Josiah  Collins,  Esq.,  directly  to  the  estate  on  Lake  Scup- 
pernong,  which  had  been  without  stated  ministerial  services  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  year.     Here,  and  in  the  neighboring 
parish  of  Pettigrew's  Chapel,  I  passed  the  remaining  part  of 
the  season  of  Lent — holding  daily  services,  delivering  lectures, 
and  commencing  a  new  course  of  oral  catechetical  instruction 
to  the  servants.    This  course  is  to  embrace  the  prominent  events 
and  truths  of  the  Old  and  'New  Testaments,  as  connected  with 
man's  fall  and  redemption;  and  is  designed  to  follow  the  oral 
catechism  I  have  already  published.     The  services  here  were  of 
the  most  gratifying  and  encouraging  character,  fully  justifying 
all  that  has  been  said  and  anticipated  of  the  system  of  religious 
training  hitherto  pursued  on  these  plantations.     When  I  saw 
master  and  servants  standing  side  by  side  in  the  holy  services  of 
Passion  Week,  when  I  saw  all  secular  labor  on  these  plantations 
suspended   on   Good    Friday,    and   the   cleanly   clad   multitude 
thronging  the  house  of  prayer  to  pay  their  homage  to  a  crucified 
Saviour,  and  when  I  saw,  on  the  blessed  Easter  morn,  the  mas- 
ter, with  his  goodly  company  of  servants,  kneeling  with  reverent 
hearts  and  devout  thanksgivings  to  take  the  bread  of  life  at  the 
same  altar,  I  could  not  but  indulge  the  hope  that,  ere  long,  my 
spirit  might  be  refreshed  by  such  scenes  in  every  part  of  my 
Diocese — ^while  I  could  not  help  believing  that,  had  some  of 
our  brethren  of  other  lands  been  present,  they  would  have  been 
induced  to   change  tlie   note  of  their  Availing  oA'er  imaginary 


100  Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina. 

suffering  into  tlie  heartfelt  exclamation :  'Happy  are  the  people 
that  are  in  such  a  case ;  yea,  blessed  are  the  people  who  have  the 
Lord  for  their  God.'  Often,  at  such  times,  have  I  wished  for 
the  presence  of  my  friend  the  good  Bishop  of  Oxford,  as  I  have 
felt  assured  that  could  he  but  once  witness  what  it  was  my 
happiness  to  witness,  though  in  too  imperfect  a  state,  his  manly 
heart  would  prompt  him  to  ask  instant  pardon  of  the  American 
Church  for  his  having  spoken  so  harshly  upon  a  subject  which 
he  so  imperfectly  understood,  and  that  he  would  perceive  his 
Christian  sympathy  would  find  a  more  natural  vent  in  efforts 
to  remove  the  cruel  oppressions  of  the  factory  system  in  his  own 
country,  and  his  Christian  indignation  a  much  more  legitimate 
object  of  rebuke  in  the  English  Churchmen  who  have  helped  to 
rivet  that  system  upon  their  land."  Of  a  visit  in  1836  to  Salem 
Chapel,  in  Orange  County,  adjoining  the  plantation  of  Judge 
Duncan  Cameron  (and  built  by  that  gentleman).  Bishop  Ives 
wrote:  "I  performed  service  and  preached  to  a  congregation, 
chiefly  of  colored  persons,  from  the  plantations  of  Judge  Cam- 
eron and  Mr.  Bennehan."  In  April,  1849,  after  speaking  of  a 
visitation  to  Saint  Paul's  Church  in  Edenton,  the  Bishop  says : 
"I  ofliciated  in  St.  Timothy's  Chapel,  on  the  estate  of  Joshua 
Skinner,  Esq.,  whose  interest  in  the  Christian  instruction  of  his 
slaves  deserves  every  encouragement.  Here  I  confirmed  eleven 
persons."  On  the  same  page  of  the  Bishop's  journal  he  says: 
"I  officiated  at  the  house  of  Henry  K.  Burgwyn,  Esq.,  and  con- 
firmed seven  colored  persons.  Mr.  Burgwyn  is  making  very 
laudable  efforts  to  christianize  his  slaves,  which  thus  far  have 
proved  eminently  successful."  During  the  Episcopate  of  Bishop 
Ives  first  began  to  be  felt  the  labors  of  three  brothers,  William 
Ruffin  Smith,  Richard  Henry  Smith  and  James  Norfleet  Smith, 
of  Halifax  County,  religious  workers,  church  builders  and  in- 
structors of  their  slaves.  ISTor  was  the  work  in  the  cities  behind 
that  in  the  rural  districts  in  behalf  of  the  religious  instruction 
of  the  negroes.  In  1832,  the  Reverend  William  D.  Cairns,  Rec- 
tor  of    Saint   James's   Church   in   Wilmington,   reported   that 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  101 

eighteen  of  his  communicants  were  negroes.  To  the  Diocesan 
Convention  of  1833  the  same  clergyman  stated:  "A  colored 
congregation  has  been  organized  with  more  than  anticipated 
success.  The  church  edifice  is  relinquished  to  their  use  on  the 
night  of  Sunday,  and  the  average  attendance  has  been  near  three 
hundi-ed.  The  intelligent  of  the  community  approve  the  effort." 
To  the  convention  last  mentioned  the  Eeverend  John  R.  Good- 
man, Rector  of  Christ  Church  in  ]^few  Bern,  reported  that  a 
colored  congregation  had  been  formed  in  the  parish  and  weekly 
services  were  regularly  held.  Another  report,  at  the  same  time, 
from  the  Reverend  Jarvis  B.  Buxton,  Rector  of  Saint  John's 
Church,  in  Fayetteville,  ran  as  follows :  "An  exemplary  sobriety 
of  deportment,  observable  within  the  African  congregation,  af- 
fords pleasing  evidence  of  the  adaptation  of  our  Scriptural 
liturgy  to  the  wants  and  apprehensions  of  this  particular  popu- 
lation." Seven  years  later  (to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
1840)  the  last  quoted  clergyman  said :  "The  colored  population 
continue  to  manifest  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  visitations  of  the 
Bishop,  and  in  the  special  services  he  affords  them.  On  these 
occasions,  and  for  their  accommodation,  all  the  pews  are  re- 
linquished by  their  proprietors."  In  May,  1832,  a  congregation 
of  negroes  was  organized  at  Washington,  in  Beaufort  County, 
by  the  Reverend  William  N.  Hawks,  a  native  of  New  Bern,  who 
did  much  missionary  work  in  the  surrounding  country.  About 
twelve  years  later  the  free  negroes  of  Washington  built  a  chapel 
at  their  own  expense,  and  Mr.  Hawks  there  ministered  to  them. 
As  heretofore  stated  (in  the  sketch  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft),  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Hawks  was  a  brother  of  the  Right  Reverend 
Cicero  Stephens  Hawks,  Bishop  of  Missouri,  and  of  the  Rev- 
erend Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.D.,  LL.D.  We  cannot  better  close 
this  account  of  the  earlier  efforts  to  better  the  religious  condi- 
tion of  the  negro  race  in  North  Carolina,  during  the  Episcopate 
of  Bishop  Ives,  than  by  quoting  from  a  report  on  the  State  of 
the  Church,  which  was  made  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
1848.     This  report  says :    "The  religious  wants  of  this  part  of 


102  Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina. 

our  population  claim  strougly  the  attention  of  both  clergy  and 
laity.  Our  duty  to  our  servants  is  not  done  by  barely  allowing 
them  to  receive  some  religious  instruction  in  whatever  quarter 
they  may  choose  to  find  it.  The  sober  piety  that  is  inspired  by 
the  services  of  the  Church — the  transforming  and  renewing 
power  of  Christ's  Sacraments,  conveying  Divine  grace  in  and 
through  the  ministrations  of  the  Church — furnish  reason 
enough  to  induce  every  member  of  it  to  desire  and  endeavor  to 
bring  them  into  'one  fold'  under  the  'one  Shepherd.'  And  surely 
the  master  who  calls  himself  a  Churchman  falls  short  of  his 
duty  if  he  neglects  to  have  his  servants  duly  baptized  and  cate- 
chized, and  trained  in  all  the  methods  of  the  Church  by  her 
appointed  ministers,  for  her  communion.  So  much  he  may  do, 
for  they  are  especially  entrusted  to  him — so  much  he  must  do, 
for  on  what  he  does  depends  the  salvation  of  their  souls." 

An  account  of  the  Episcopate  of  Bishop  Ives  would  be  far 
from  complete  if  we  failed  to  record  what  was  done  during  that 
period  in  the  interest  of  Christian  education.  The  most  im- 
portant of  all  educational  work  was  that  carried  on  at  Saint 
Mary's  School  in  Raleigh  by  the  Reverend  Aldert  Smedes, 
D.  D.,  formerly  a  resident  of  ISTew  York,  whom  Bishop  Ives 
had  encouraged  in  his  inclination  to  come  South.  Through 
the  instrumentality  of  Doctor  Smedes  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  were  spread  to  thousands  during  the  decades  which 
afterwards  elapsed,  both  under  the  management  of  himself  and 
that  of  his  no  less  zealous  and  consecrated  son,  the  Reverend 
Bennett  Smedes,  D.D.,  together  with  their  worthy  successors, 
the  Reverend  Messrs.  Theodore  D.  Bratton  (now  Bishop  of 
Mississippi),  MclSTeely  DuBose,  and  George  W.  Lay.  But  this 
institution,  which  is  now  the  Church's  most  prized  educational 
possession  in  jSTorth  Carolina,  grew  out  of  an  unsuccessful  effort 
to  establish  a  church  school  for  boys,  and  a  review  of  the  whole 
matter  may  be  studied  with  both  profit  and  interest.  J^Tor  shall 
we  omit  mention  of  the  mountain  mission  of  Valle  Crusis;  for 
(though  strange  doctrines  may  for  a  while  have  been  proclaimed 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  103 

therein)  that,  too,  though  on  ii  smaller  scale,  has  been  the  means 
of  extending  Church  doctrines.  So,  also,  for  a  while,  was 
Trinity  School  in  the  western  section  of  Wake  County.  Ravens- 
croft  School,  in  Asheville,  was  established  at  a  later  period,  dur- 
ing the  Episcopate  of  Bishop  Atkinson. 

The  school  for  boys,  out  of  which  grew  the  female  seminary 
now  famous  as  Saint  Mary's  School,  was  called  the  Episcopal 
School  of  North  Carolina.  x\lmost  immediately  after  his 
arrival  in  the  State,  Bishop  Ives  began  to  bestir  himself 
in  the  matter  of  Christian  education.  To  the  Diocesan  Con- 
vention of  1832  he  declared  that,  though  the  General  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  was  cherished  by  the  Church  throughout  the 
United  States,  it  was  desirable  to  establish  within  the  Diocese 
of  jSTorth  Carolina  a  school  for  the  instruction  of  young  men 
who  intended  to  prepare  for  the  ministry,  and  also  a  school  for 
boys,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church.  It  Avas  suggested  that 
the  latter  should  be  modeled  after  a  successful  educational  insti- 
tution at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  in  the  State  of  New  York.  On 
motion  of  Mr.  Gavin  Hogg,  this  recommendation  was  referred 
to  a  joint  committee,  composed  of  clergy  and  laity,  as  follows : 
the  Beverend  Messrs.  William  M.  Green,  George  W.  Ereeman, 
Jarvis  B.  Buxton  and  Joseph  H.  Saunders ;  and  Judge  Duncan 
Cameron,  Judge  George  E.  Badger,  Mr.  Charles  P.  Mallett,  and 
Mr.  Thomas  P.  Devereux.  This  committee  was  instructed  to 
report  to  the  next  Diocesan  Convention  a  plan  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Chui'ch  school,  to  suggest  a  place  for  its  location,  and 
make  any  other  recommendations  which  should  be  deemed 
advisable.  On  December  6,  1832,  on  April  3,  1833,  and  proba- 
bly at  other  times,  Bishop  Ives  met  this  committee,  but  no  im- 
portant action  was  taken.  On  May  31,  1833,  while  the  Dio- 
cesan Convention  was  in  session  at  Warrenton,  a  resolution  was 
passed,  providing  that  the  institution  should  be  located  at  Ra- 
leigh and  should  be  called  the  Episcopal  School  of  North  Caro- 
lina. xVt  the  same  time,  the  Convention  pledged  itself  to  fulfill 
any  contracts  or  agreements  which  the  above  committee  should 


104  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

make.  After  these  resolutions  were  adopted,  Bishop  Ives  de- 
livered a  special  charge,  of  some  length,  on  the  importance  of 
Christian  education.  In  1833,  the  same  year  in  v^^hich  this  con- 
vention was  held,  the  Bishop  visited  the  school  at  Flushing, 
Long  Island,  and  also  one  at  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  to 
familiarize  himself  with  the  workings  of  those  institutions.  The 
Northampton  school — called  Round  Hill  Academy — was  oper- 
ated by  George  Bancroft  (afterwards  so  celebrated  as  a  histo- 
rian), in  partnership  with  Joseph  G.  Cogswell.  The  latter  was 
prevailed  upon  to  come  to  Raleigh  as  principal  of  the  Episcopal 
School,  and  he  accordingly  arrived  in  Raleigh,  in  company  with 
the  Bishop,  November  25,  1833.  In  the  same  year,  the  Reverend 
Joseph  H.  Saunders  (then  stationed  in  Warrenton)  came  to 
Raleigh  to  become  Chaplain  of  the  school.  On  Monday,  June  2, 
1834,  the  school  was  opened.  During  the  session  of  1835-'36, 
Mr.  Cogswell  resigned  the  office  of  principal,  assigning  ill  health 
as  his  reason,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend  Adam  Empie, 
then  President  of  William  and  Mary  College,  in  Virginia,  but 
formerly  a  clergyman  of  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina.  He  it 
was,  as  will  be  remembered,  who  was  secretary  of  the  Convention 
of  1817,  when  the  Diocese  was  organized,  and  he  was  president 
of  the  Convention  of  1823,  which  elected  John  Stark  Ravens- 
croft  to  the  Bishopric.  The  return  of  Doctor  Empie  was  a 
source  of  great  pleasure  to  his  old  associates  and  acquaintances, 
and  the  Convention  of  1836  passed  the  following  resolution  rela- 
tive to  his  again  becoming  a  clergyman  of  the  Diocese : 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  entertain  and  hereby  express  a 
sincere  satisfaction  at  the  appointment,  to  the  Rectorship  of  the 
Episcopal  School,  of  the  Reverend  President  Empie ;  and  do  welcome 
his  return  to  the  Diocese  and  to  the  Convention,  of  which  he  was  so 
long  a  zealous  and  efficient  member." 

At  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Doctor  Empie  in  Raleigh  (July, 
1836),  the  faculty  of  the  Episcopal  School  consisted  of  the  fol- 
lowing members:  John  DeBerniere  Hooper,  Acting  Principal; 
the  Reverend  Joseph  H.  Saunders,  Chaplain;  Nathaniel  Rich- 


Bishops  of  N^ortii  Carolixa.  105 

ardson,  Instructor  in  Mathematics;  Frederick  W.  Shelton,  In- 
structor in  Ancient  Languages ;  and  George  Hood,  Writing  Mas- 
ter and  Instructor  in  Sacred  Music.  Through  the  instrument- 
ality of  Bishop  Ives,  this  school  received  a  gift  from  England  of 
a  full  set  of  the  publications  of  both  the  Society  for  the  Promo- 
tion of  Christian  Knowledge  and  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts. 

The  Episcopal  School  was  first  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the 
General  Assembly  which  was  deemed  defective,  and  another 
enactment  (Chaper  32  of  the  Laws  of  1835)  was  passed,  vesting 
the  government  of  the  school  in  the  following  Board  of  Trustees : 
the  Eight  Reverend  Levi  Silliman  Ives,  the  Reverend  Messrs. 
George  W.  Freeman,  William  Mercer  Green,  and  John  Single- 
tary,  and  Messrs.  William  Norwood,  Jr.,  Duncan  Cameron, 
Frederick  J.  Hill,  M.  D.,  Simmons  J.  Baker,  M.  D.,  Thomas  P. 
Devereux,  George  E.  Spruill,  Edward  L.  Winslow,  William  H. 
Haywood,  Jr.,  and  Charles  Manly.  After  remaining  in  Raleigh 
less  than  a  year,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Enipie  returned  to  his  old 
home  in  Wilmington,  and  was  succeeded  as  Rector  of  the  Epis- 
copal School  by  the  Reverend  Moses  Ashley  Curtis.  The  latter 
gentleman  not  only  possessed  good  attainments  as  an  educator 
and  theologian,  but  was  an  author  of  high  rank  on  botanical  sub- 
jects. 

The  Trustees  of  the  Episcopal  School,  in  1839,  reported  to  the 
Diocesan  Convention  the  erection  of  three  buildings  which  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years  became  a  part  of  the  group  of  houses 
which,  ever  since  1842,  has  been  used  by  Saint  Mary's  School. 
This  report  was  as  follows :  "By  the  use  of  funds  contributed  by 
individuals,  and  other  sums  borrowed  for  the  purpose  (in  the 
whole  amounting  to  $30,000),  the  Trustees  of  the  Episcopal 
School  have  purchased  a  beautiful  site  nigh  to  the  city  of  Ra- 
leigh, and  have  erected  on  it  one  large  and  handsome  brick 
house,  three  stories  high;  and  two  spacious  wings  of  stone,  two 
stories  high,  with  all  necessary  out-houses,  offices,  &c.  The 
buildings  are  very  substantially  built  and  are  sufficient  for  the 


106  Bishops  of  j^orth  Carolina, 

comfortable  accommodation  of  two  hundred  students  and  the 
number  of  professors  necessary  for  a  seminary  of  learning  of 
the  highest  grade."  Before  these  buildings  could  be  fully  com- 
pleted for  use  as  a  school,  a  bank,  to  which  the  trustees  owed 
$14,000,  called  for  payment,  and  it  was  necessary  to  sell  the 
property  to  meet  the  indebtedness.  Mr.  George  W.  Mordecai 
was  first  appointed  a  commissioner  with  power  to  execute  the 
necessary  deeds,  etc.,  but  did  not  succeed  in  effecting  a  sale. 
The  matter  was  then  referred  to  the  Honorable  John  H.  Bryan 
and  the  Honorable  William  H.  Haywood,  Jr.,  as  commissioners ; 
but  those  gentlemen  declined  to  serve,  and  were  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Edmund  B.  Freeman,  who  closed  out  the  property  as  directed, 
Judge  Duncan  Cameron  becoming  the  purchaser. 

On  May  25,  1839  (before  the  above  sale  took  place),  the  Dio- 
cesan Convention  of  JSTorth  Carolina  had  elected  Bishop  Ives, 
Judge  Duncan  Cameron,  and  the  Honorable  William  H.  Hay- 
wood, Jr.,  a  committee  to  go  to  South  Carolina  and  ascertain 
whether  that  Diocese  would  be  willing  to  join  jSTorth  Carolina 
in  establishing  a  Theological  School  in  the  place  then  occupied 
by  the  Episcopal  School  in  Raleigh.  In  1840,  Bishop  Ives 
reported  that  the  committee  had  not  gone  on  this  mission,  as 
affairs  were  unsettled  in  South  Carolina,  owing  to  the  death  of 
Bishop  Bowen;  furthermore,  that  letters  had  been  received 
which  indicated  that  the  latter  Diocese  would  not  be  likely  to 
join  in  this  educational  undertaking.  This  movement  to  secure 
the  co-operation  of  South  Carolina  was  the  final  effort  to  save 
the  school  at  Raleigh;  and,  upon  its  failure,  nothing  remained 
but  to  proceed  with  the  sale  of  the  grounds  and  buildings. 

Reporting  the  sale  of  the  Episcopal  School,  Bishop  Ives,  as 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  said :  "The  Honorable  Judge 
Cameron,  making  the  highest  bid,  became  the  purchaser  of  the 
property  at  an  amount  covering  the  original  purchase  of  the 
land,  with  the  interest  thereon,  and  also  the  sum  loaned  from 
the  Episcopal  fund,  with  the  back  interest.  This  amount  having 
been  paid  to  the  said  agent  [Mr.  Edmund  B.  Freeman]  and  ap- 


Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina.  107 

plied  to  the  renioval  of  llie  aforesaid  incumbrances,  the  proper 
deeds  were  executed  and  the  property  duly  conveyed  to  Judge 
Cameron." 

About  the  year  1840,  the  Reverend  Edwin  Geer  and  the  Rev- 
erend John  A.  Backhouse  taught  for  a  short  while  in  the  "East 
Rock  House"  of  the  defunct  Episcopal  School. 

Xot  long  after  the  sale  of  the  land  and  buildings  of  the  Epis- 
copal School,  Bishop  Ives  was  in  New  York,  and  there  met  the 
Reverend  Aldert  Smedes,  a  young  clergyman  with  whom  he 
already  had  some  acquaintance,  and  who  was  seeking  a  location 
in  tlie  South  for  school  work.  Mr.  Smedes  had  been  compelled 
by  bronchial  trouble  to  abandon  his  work  as  a  parish  priest. 
He  was  not  unknown  to  fame  as  an  educator,  having  conducted 
a  girls'  school  in  'New  York;  but  physicians  had  advised  him 
that  a  milder  climate  would  be  beneficial  to  his  health.  Bishop 
Ives  eagerly  seized  this  opportunity  for  securing  his  services  in 
North  Carolina,  and  told  him  of  the  vacant  buildings  of  the 
Episcopal  School  at  Raleigh  which  Judge  Cameron  wished  to 
rent  for  educational  purposes.  The  result  was  that  Mr.  Smedes 
came  to  Raleigh  and  opened  up  a  school  for  girls,  recitations 
beginning  on  the  12th  of  May,  1842.  Immediately  upon  the 
establishment  of  this  school,  he  gave  it  the  name  of  Saint 
Mary's,  wishing  that  the  pure  life  and  religious  humility  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  might  be  an  example  to  its  students  in  the 
years  to  come.  On  the  first  Sunday  after  Trinity  in  1842  (May 
29th),  a  few  weeks  after  Mr.  Smedes  began  this  work,  it  is 
recorded  by  Bishop  Ives  that  he  "preached  to  an  interesting 
assemblage  of  young  ladies  at  St.  Mary's  School,  Ravenscroft 
Grove,  Raleigh."  As  space  will  not  permit  us  to  trace  the  his- 
tory of  Saint  Mary's  from  its  foundation  to  the  period  (nearly 
sixty  years  later)  when  the  Church  purchased  it  from  the  heirs 
of  Judge  Cameron,  we  may  well  close  our  present  reference  to  it 
with  a  quotation  from  the  Bishop's  address  to  the  Convention 
of  1844,  when  he  said:  "Its  prosperity  and  promised  benefit  to 
the  Church,  while  they  call  for  our  prayers  and  encouragements, 


108  Bishops  of  I^orth  Carolina. 

go  far  to  show  that  God's  ways  are  best — that,  while  we  were 
mourning  for  the  Episcopal  School,  He  designed  in  that  failure 
a  greater  good  to  the  Diocese." 

The  failure  of  the  Episcopal  School  did  not  prevent  further 
efforts  toward  male  education  at  Raleigh;  for,  in  1847,  the 
Eeverend  Aldert  Smedes  also  undertook  to  establish  a  school  for 
boys,  in  addition  to  the  school  for  girls  which  he  was  then  so 
successfully  operating.  In  the  Bishop's  address  to  the  Conven- 
tion of  1847,  the  undertaking  was  described  as  follows :  "A  new 
classical  school  for  boys,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Diocesan, 
is  about  to  be  opened  within  six  or  seven  miles  of  the  city  of 
Ealeigh;  and  this  through  the  instrumentality  and  zeal  of  the 
present  Eector  of  St.  Mary's  School  in  that  city."  This  new 
male  academy  was  called  Trinity  School.  It  was  west  of  Ea- 
leigh about  six  miles;  and,  after  the  War  Between  the  States, 
was  purchased  for  agricultural  uses  by  Major  William  Augus- 
tus Blount,  who  named  his  plantation  Stony-lonesome.  Though 
Trinity  School  was  an  educational  venture  financed  by  the 
Eeverend  Aldert  Smedes,  it  was  under  the  immediate  con- 
trol of  the  Eeverend  Fordyce  M.  Hubbard,  as  Eector.  Mr.  Hub- 
bard was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  where  he  had  been  a  teacher 
under  Doctor  Cogswell  in  the  Eound  Hill  Academy  at  l^orth- 
ampton,  heretofore  alluded  to.  He  came  to  Trinity  School  from 
Christ  Church  in  ISTew  Bern,  North  Carolina,  of  which  he  had 
been  Eector  for  some  time.  Trinity  School  was  recognized  as  a 
parish  in  itself,  and  the  first  report  of  its  Eector,  in  1848,  stated : 
"This  school  was  opened  nearly  twelve  months  ago,  and  its  con- 
stant and  gradual  growth  leaves  in  the  minds  of  those  who  have 
charge  of  it  no  doubt  of  its  permanence  and  prosperity.  The 
aim  of  its  teachers  has  been  to  combine  thorough  instruction 
and  the  highest  attainments  in  learning,  with  strict  discipline 
and  careful  training  in  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion.  In 
the  former  respects  their  efforts  have  been  rewarded  with  all  the 
success  they  anticipated.     The  religious  education  of  those  com- 


Bishops  ok  North  Carolina.  109 

Hiitled  to  them  has  been  conducted  in  the  method  jjrescribed  by 
the  Church.  Daily  prayer  is  said,  with  daily  examinations  in 
Holy  Scripture;  fasts  and  festivals  are  duly  observed,  with  ser- 
mons and  catechizing  on  Sundays.  All  the  services  are  cheer- 
fully attended  by  the  boys,  and,  we  believe,  with  much  advan- 
tage." After  serving  as  Eector  of  Trinity  School  for  about  a 
year,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hubbard  left  that  institution  in  1849  to 
accept  a  professorship  in  the  University  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  and 
the  Reverend  P.  Teller  Babbitt  succeeded  him  in  his  former 
post.  In  1851,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Babbitt  reported  that  there 
were  nineteen  students  at  Trinity.  He  removed  in  the  following 
year  to  Florida.  With  his  departure,  the  brief  existence  of 
Trinity  School  came  to  an  end. 

It  was  in  1844r-'45  that  Bishop  Ives  first  began  to  take  steps 
toward  the  establishment  of  a  mountain  mission  in  Watauga 
County  at  a  place  which  he  named  Valle  Crucis.  Tliis  was  a 
noble  conception  for  the  spread  of  religion  and  education 
throughout  the  mountainous  section  of  the  Diocese,  theretofore 
a  much  neglected  field ;  and,  had  he  confined  his  religious  views 
strictly  to  the  teachings  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  Book  of 
Common  Prayer,  the  undertaking  might  have  met  with  more 
success.  Even  with  its  early  record,  whereby  it  lost  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Church  for  a  time,  much  good  has  been  accom- 
plished there.  In  his  address  to  the  Convention  of  1844,  Bishop 
Ives  alluded  to  the  mountainous  section  of  the  State,  saying: 
"Here  the  destitute  begin  to  perceive  and  appreciate  the  eminent 
appropriateness  of  our  Liturgy  to  their  condition.  In  many 
instances  they  have  confessed  to  me,  with  tears  of  gratitude,  that 
its  use  among  them  has  opened  to  their  minds  sources  of  knowl- 
edge inconceivably  greater  than  anything  which  they  had  before 
enjoyed.  Persons,  unable  to  read,  have  given  as  a  reason  for 
becoming  Episcopalians  that  so  much  of  the  Bible  is  read  to 
them  in  our  services.  Our  chants,  too,  have  found  special  favor 
with  them.  Through  the  whole  extent  of  my  last  visitation  in 
the   mountain   district,    I   was    accompanied   by   three    of    my 


110  Bishops  of  !N^orth  Carolina. 

younger  clergy,  who  were  sufficiently  skilled  in  clianting  to 
enable  them  to  chant  the  portions  of  our  service  usually  per- 
formed in  this  way.  The  effect  was  in  the  highest  degree  favor- 
able, and  the  desire  of  the  people  to  be  instructed  in  this  kind  of 
music  importunate."  Later  the  Bishop  was  able  to  announce 
that  while  he  was  in  Watauga  Valley  (August,  1844),  a  farm 
had  been  purchased  and  contracts  awarded  for  the  erection  of 
buildings  for  a  missionary  station.  Of  this  farm  tract,  one  hun- 
dred acres  were  under  cultivation  when  the  land  was  purchased. 
A  small  grist-mill  and  tannery  were  already  on  the  place.  The 
first  buildings  erected  under  the  auspices  of  Bishop  Ives  were  a 
saw-mill,  a  log  kitchen  and  dining-room,  a  log  dwelling  contain- 
ing four  rooms,  and  a  frame  building  (sixty  by  twenty  feet) 
with  a  room  at  each  end  for  teachers,  together  with  a  large  hall 
for  school  purposes  in  the  centre,  all  on  the  ground  floor.  Over 
the  whole,  was  a  dormitory  for  boys.  All  these  buildings,  said 
the  Bishop,  would  be  ready  for  use  by  June,  1845.  The  objects 
of  the  Valle  Crusis  mission,  as  set  forth  by  Bishop  Ives  to  the 
Convention  of  1845,  were  as  follows :  to  extend  the  gospel 
throughout  a  territory,  thirty  or  forty  miles  in  every  direction, 
to  a  religiously  destitute  people ;  to  give  rudimentary  instruction 
to  poor  children  of  the  immediate  neighborhood  on  terms  which 
their  parents  could  afford;  to  receive  into  the  institution  young 
men  of  talent  from  the  surrounding  country,  on  condition  that 
they  should  serve  as  teachers  and  catechists  for  a  certain  time 
after  graduation,  under  the  direction  of  the  authorities  of  the 
mission ;  to  train  boys  of  talent  and  merit  for  either  the  ministry 
or  subordinate  services  to  the  Church ;  to  give  theological  train- 
ing to  candidates  for  holy  orders ;  to  conduct  a  general  school, 
both  classical  and  agricultural;  and  to  maintain  a  model  farm, 
both  as  an  aid  in  supporting  the  mission  and  as  a  means  of 
instructing  the  surrounding  population  in  improved  agriculture. 
This  was  the  first  school  in  I^orth  Carolina  where  practical  agri- 
culture was  taught.  The  farm  work  was  under  the  direction  of 
a  young  agriculturist  from  the  State  of  l^ew  York.     In  1846, 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  Ill 

much  progress  was  reporfod  at  Valle  Crusis.  Sovpral  of  the  old 
mills  bad  been  replaced  with  new  and  improved  buildings  for 
the  same  uses,  and  a  large  barn  and  blacksmith  shop  had  been 
added,  besides  other  houses.  In  the  classical  and  agricultural 
school,  twenty-eight  pupils  had  received  instruction  during  the 
year,  nine  of  these  being  given  instruction  and  board  free  of 
charge.  There  were  also  seven  candidates  for  holy  orders  re- 
siding there.  Upon  receipt  of  this  report  for  1847,  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  State  of  the  Church,  through  its  chairman,  the 
Reverend  Robert  Brent  Drane,  of  Wilmington,  reported  that  it 
deeply  sympathized  with  the  Bishop  in  his  wishes,  and  agreed 
with  him  in  the  expectation  of  its  ultimately  becoming  a  noble 
and  permanent  nursery  of  the  Church.  In  1846  the  Valle  Crusis 
mission  suffered  a  severe  blow  in  the  death  of  its  first  Rector, 
the  Reverend  William  Thurston.  Of  that  faithful  servant  of 
God,  Bishop  Ives  v/rote :  "As  a  friend,  a  presbyter,  the  Rector 
of  the  School  at  Valle  Crusis,  and  my  associate  in  that  self- 
sacrificing  enterprise,  his  simplicity,  and  guilelessness,  and  fidel- 
ity, and  unflinching  toil,  had  not  only  endeared  him  to  my  heart, 
but  also  made  his  loss  a  severe  trial  to  my  faith  in  the  important 
work  (to  which  I  felt  myself  so  urgently  called)  of  spreading 
the  light  of  life  through  our  mountain  wilds."  After  the  death 
of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Thurston,  the  Reverend  Henry  H.  Prout 
became  head  of  the  mission  and  the  Reverend  Jarvis  Buxton 
(son  of  the  Reverend  Jarvis  B.  Buxton)  had  charge  of  the 
school.  In  time,  the  Reverend  William  Glenney  French  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Prout  as  head  of  the  mission.  In  addition  to  those 
already  mentioned  in  connection  with  Valle  Crusis,  quite  a  num- 
ber of  others  lived  there,  at  one  time  or  another,  who  were  either 
then  in  the  sacred  min'istry  or  later  took  holy  orders.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  William  R.  Gries,  William  Passmore, 
George  Patterson,  Frederick  Fitz  Gerald,  Joseph  W.  Murphy, 
Richard  Wainwright  Barber,  Charles  T.  Bland,  William  West 
Skiles,  and  Thomas  F.  Davis,  Jr.  There  were  probably  others 
also.    In  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church, 


112  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

for  1848,  we  find  the  announcement :  "It  is  understood  that  the 
religious  house  at  Valle  Crusis  will  henceforth  devote  its  ener- 
gies to  the  instruction  of  candidates,  or  those  who  desire  to  be- 
come candidates,  for  holy  orders.  The  importance  of  this  insti- 
tution to  the  Diocese  is  immense,  as  the  nursery  of  a  future  min- 
istry. It  appears  to  possess  peculiar  advantages  for  this  work, 
not  only  in  the  retirement,  for  the  time  being,  of  its  students 
from  the  distractions  of  society,  and  the  hardy  and  useful  dis- 
cipline to  which  they  are  inured,  but  also  in  the  great  economy 
with  which  the  work  can  be  conducted — your  Committee  being 
informed  that  $50  apiece,  per  annum,  may  be  made  to  cover  all 
necessary  expenses,  except  those  for  clothing."  By  1849  the  mis- 
sion at  Valle  Crusis  had  begun  to  drift  away  from  the  teachings 
of  the  Church,  and  was  fast  becoming  a  feeble  and  undignified 
imitation  of  the  monastic  institutions  of  the  Church  of  Eome. 
In  October  of  that  year,  under  the  pseudonym  of  "A  Layman  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  ISTorth  Carolina,"  United 
States  Senator  George  E.  Badger  issued  a  small  booklet  entitled 
An  Examination  of  the  Doctrines  Declared  and  Powers  Claimed 
by  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Ives,  and  in  this  he  said : 

"  He  [Bishop  Ives]  has  instituted  at  Valle  Crusis  a  monastic  order, 
a  society  within  the  church,  composed  of  persons  bound  to  him  by  a 
vow  of  celibacy,  poverty,  and  obedience,  the  form  of  which  the  Bishop 
does  not  give  us  in  his  Pastoral,  though  he  sets  out  the  objects  of  the 
society  and  the  duties  of  the  order.  He  has  given  to  the  members  as 
their  peculiar  dress,  'a  black  cassock,  extending  from  the  throat  to 
the  ankles,'  answering  to  that  worn  by  members  of  the  Romish  Order 
of  Jesus.  He  allows  to  be  placed  on  the  altar  a  pyx,  in  which  are 
reserved  the  remaining  consecrated  elements  after  a  communion,  a 
practice  used  in  the  Romish  Church,  but  disallowed  and  forbidden  by 
ours.  Again :  there  is  used  at  Valle  Crusis,  with  the  approbation  of 
the  Bishop,  a  little  manual  of  devotion,  in  which,  the  Bishop  says, 
were  some  'expressions'  which,  upon  being  objected  to,  were  by  him 
promptly  altered.  Now,  these  'expressions'  were  prayers  to  the  Virgin 
Mary  and  the  Saints;  and  these  prayers  the  Bishop  does  not  deem 
tcrong  in  principle,  for,  in  a  letter  to  one  of  his  presbyters,  he  says : 
'I  feel  bound,  however,  to  say,  that  while  I  allow  no  prayers  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  and  Saints,  it  is  not  because  they  are  wrong  in  them- 
selves, but  because  they  are  liable  to  abuse.' " 


BisHOi's  OF  NoiiTH  Caroi.ina.  113 

111  coniieclioii  with  the  Vallc  Crusis  mission  it  is  but  just  to 
the  clergymen  there  stationed  under  Bishop  Ives  to  add  that 
when  he  abandoned  his  Church  a  few  years  later,  not  one  fol- 
lowed his  example.  Their  vow  of  "obedience"  did  not  carry 
them  that  far.  After  the  defection  of  its  founder,  the  above  mis- 
sion was  almost  deserted  for  nearly  half  a  century,  though  the 
Reverend  William  West  Skiles  faithfully  labored  as  a  mission- 
ary in  that  vicinity  until  his  death,  December  8,  1862.  The 
work  there  was  revived,  many  years  later,  chiefly  through  the 
instrumentality  of  Bishop  Cheshire;  but  it  is  at  present  situ- 
ated within  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  Asheville,  under 
Bishop  Horner — an  enthusiast  on  religious  education — and  is 
now  daily  doing  the  work  for  which  it  was  originally  founded. 
An  interesting  account  of  the  early  work  at  Valle  Crusis,  by 
Mrs.  H.  H,  Prout,  will  be  found  in  the  Messenger  of  Hope  for 
February,  1909. 

It  was  in  the  Winter  of  1848-'49  that  the  religious  practices 
of  Bishop  Ives  began  to  be  at  variance  with  the  Church  in 
which  he  held  office ;  but,  time  and  again,  he  made  point-blank 
denials  when  charged  with  fostering  doctrines  which  he  after- 
wards admitted  to  have  held  "for  years"  before  he  openly  pro- 
fessed himself  a  Eoman  Catholic.  In  the  early  Spring  of  1848 
he  had  been  prostrated  by  a  dangerous  attack  of  fever,  and 
for  many  weeks  he  was  confined  to  his  bed  at  the  home  of 
Josiah  Collins,  of  Edenton.  This  illness  prevented  his  at- 
tendance upon  the  Diocesan  Convention  which  assembled  in 
Wilmington  during  the  month  of  May,  and  he  spent  the  Sum- 
mer recuperating,  not  being  able  (as  he  tells  us  in  his  journal) 
to  resume  his  duties  until  the  first  of  the  following  September. 
Among  the  papers  submitted  to  a  committee  which  effected  a 
temporary  reconciliation  between  the  Bishop  and  his  Diocese 
in  1850-'51  (after  his  retraction  or  denial  of  all  past  teachings 
not  authorized  by  his  Church)  was  a  letter  from  an  Edenton 
physician.  Doctor  Matthew  Page,  tending  to  show  that  the 
above-mentioned  attack  of  fever  had  to  some  extent   affected 


114  Bishops  of  Xorth  Carolina. 

tlie  Bisliop's  mind.  To  the  same  effect  was  other  testimony, 
including  that  of  Mr.  Collins,  at  whose  home  the  Bishop's  ill- 
ness had  occurred.  Said  the  committee's  report  to  the  Diocesan 
Convention  of  1851 :  "In  addition  to  Dr.  Page's  letter,  they 
[the  committee]  have  before  them  statements  tending  to  show 
that  the  Bishop  has  for  several  years  past  been  in  a  state  of 
mental  excitement  which  has  impaired  his  memory  and  rendered 
quite  uncertain  the  determinations  of  his  judgment.  An  oral 
statement,  quite  in  detail,  but  which  the  Committee  have  not 
had  time  to  reduce  to  writing,  was  also  made  by  Josiah  Col- 
lins, Esq.,  to  show  that  the  Bishop's  mind  has  been,  for  several 
years  past,  from  an  attack  of  fever,  singularly  affected,  so  as  to 
impair  his  judgment  and  enfeeble  his  memory,  while  other 
powers  of  the  mind  have  been  rather  exalted — a  state  of  mind 
well  calculated  to  mislead  its  subject,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
expose  him  to  gross  misconceptions  on  the  part  of  others." 
Accompanying  this  report — -indeed  a  part  of  it — was  a  signed 
statement  by  the  Bishop,  j-etracting  about  every  religious 
dogma  he  had  ever  advocated  which  v/as  not  sustained  by  the 
teachings  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  Later  reference  will  be 
made  to  this  paper.  The  denials  and  retractions  by  Bishop 
Ives  of  facts,  which  he  afterwards  admitted  to  have  been  true, 
began  in  1848  and  ended  in  December,  1852,  when  he  openly 
avowed  his  conversion  to  the  Church  of  Home.  Had  he  made 
no  concealment  of  his  change  of  mind  at  the  time  it  first  took 
place,  openly  embracing  the  faith  of  his  new  choice,  instead 
of  attempting  to  establish  usages  in  the  Church  which  were 
altogether  repugnant  to  its  laws — laws  he  was  pledged  as  Bishop 
to  support — it  would  have  been  far  better  than  was  the  vacillat- 
ing course  he  pursued  during  the  last  four  years  of  his  Episco- 
pate. He  had  as  perfect  a  right  to  leave  the  Episcopal 
Church  as  he  had  formerly  had  to  enter  it  when  he  aban- 
doned Presbyterianism  in  his  youth ;  indeed,  it  was  not  only  a 
right  but  a  duty,  under  the  existing  circumstances.  Had  he 
lived  at  a  later  period  he  might  have  profited  by  the  advice  of 


Bisifoi's  OF  NoKTU  Carolina.  IIT) 

the  great  Bishop  of  Alabama,  Richard  Hooker  Wilmer,  who 
said:  "It"  you  don't  like  the  'Reformed  Church'  the  'unre- 
formed'  Church  has  its  doors  open  to  receive  you.  Go  home! 
In  the  name  of  truth,  sincerity  and  decency,  so  far  as  in  you 
lies,  be  what  you  purport  to  be.  Use  the  language  of  the  Bible, 
and  of  your  mother  the  Church,  and  speak  not  in  dubious  and 
long  since  discarded  phraseology  of  'masses,'  etc." 

We  shall  now  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  various  stages  of 
controversy  through  which  Bishop  Ives  and  the  Church  passed 
between  the  years  1848  and  1852.  As  has  already  been  stated, 
after  some  months  spent  in  recuperating  from  the  fever,  he 
had  suificiently  recovered  by  September,  1848,  to  resume  his 
duties.  Following  that  time,  vague  rumors  were  afloat  as  to 
practices  authorized  and  advocated  by  him,  especially  at  Valle 
Crusis.  By  the  time  winter  had  passed  and  the  month  for 
holding  the  Diocesan  Convention  had  arrived  (May,  1849),  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  reported  to  that  conven- 
tion, in  part,  as  follows:  "While  the  Committee  find  much 
cause  of  thankfulness  to  God  for  these  manifestations  of  the 
Church's  increase,  they  deplore  the  existence  among  its  mem- 
bers of  great  agitation  and  alarm,  arising  from  the  impression 
that  doctrines  have  been  preached  not  in  accordance  with  the 
Liturgy  and  xirticles  of  this  Church,  and  that  ceremonies  and 
practices  have  been  introduced,  either  unauthorized  by  the  cus- 
toms of  this  Church  or  in  plain  violation  of  its  rubrics."  The 
Bishop  was  confined  to  his  bed  by  sickness  when  this  committee 
made  its  report,  but  lost  no  time  in  sending  to  the  Convention 
a  written  communication,  which  was  read  before  that  body 
by  the  Reverend  Cameron  F.  McRae,  as  follows: 

Bbetiikkn  of  the  Clergy  :  In  the  report  on  tlie  State  of  the  Church, 
made  by  members  of  your  order,  reference  is  made  to  excitement  in 
the  Diocese,  growing  out  of  the  idea  that  doctrines  are  promulged  and 
practices  encouraged  among  us,  more  or  less  repugnant  to  the  author- 
ized doctrines  and  usages  of  our  brancli  of  the  Church.  As  these  doc- 
trines and  practices  are  not  specified,  your  Bishop  can  address  you 
only  in  general  terms.    But  he  does,  by  way  of  charge,  hereby  address 


116  Bishops  of  I^okth  Carolina. 

you  and  authorize  you,  when  you  return  to  3^our  several  parishes,  to 
assure  your  people  that  no  efforts  shall  be  wanting  on  his  part,  so 
long  as  God  may  give  him  jurisdiction  in  North  Carolina,  to  hinder 
the  inculcation  of  any  doctrine  or  the  introduction  of  any  practice — 
come  from  whatever  quarter  it  may — not  in  strict  accordance  with 
the  Liturgy  of  our  Church,  as  illustrated  and  defined  by  those  stand- 
ards of  interpretation  authorized  by  the  Church  itself. 

In  respect  to  a  particular  question  which  has  agitated  the  Diocese 
of  late,  the  question  of  auricular  confession,  I  may  here  express  my 
conviction  that  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  our  standard  of  Doc- 
ti'iue.  Discipline,  and  Worship,  does  not  authorize  any  clergyman  of 
this  Church  to  teach  or  enforce  such  confession  as  necessary  to  salva- 
tion ;  and  that  the  only  confession  that  it  authorizes  is  the  voluntary 
confession  of  the  penitent  in  accordance  with  the  exhortation  in  the 
office  for  the  Holy  Communion.  L.  Siiximan  Ives, 

Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 

This  denial  was  explicit,  to  say  the  least,  and  peace  reigned 
once  more — but  only  for  a  while.  A  few  months  later  (August 
8,  1849),  while  at  Valle  Crusis,  Bishop  Ives  issued  a  pastoral 
letter  of  eighty  pages  to  the  Church  in  North  Carolina,  saying, 
among  other  things,  that  the  disclaimer  on  his  part,  as  given 
above,  was  dictated  from  a  bed  of  sickness,  his  condition  not 
admitting  of  his  "writing  or  even  thinking  intensely"  (italics 
in  original),  and  he  now  considered  it  humiliating  to  have 
given  this  unnecessary  assurance  of  his  fidelity  to  "our  branch 
of  the  one  Catholic  Church."  Of  the  Convention's  right  to 
express  its  sentiments  concerning  his  teachings  he  declared 
that :  "No  convention,  constituted  as  our  conventions  are,  has 
a  right  to  determine  what  is  or  should  be  the  faith,  or  practice 
under  the  faith,  of  a  diocese.  .  .  .  Whatever  man,  there- 
fore, or  body  of  men,  take  upon  themselves  the  power  of  dic- 
tation, or  control,  or,  under  any  form.,  the  chief  direction,  in 
regard  to  the  doctrine,  discipline  and  w^orship  of  this  diocese, 
or  any  part  of  this  diocese,  are  guilty  of  arrogating  powers 
committed  solely  to  my  hands,  assuming  a  trust  for  which  1 
alone  am  made  responsible,  and  resisting  the  authority  of 
Christ  and  the  functions  of  the  Holy  Ghost  with  which  I  only 
am  invested.     They  do  more  than  this  if  they  be  clergymen — 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  117 

they  violate  their  own  solemn  vows  of  fidelity  and  submission." 
He  also  intimates  that  the  clergy  of  the  former  Convention 
deserved  to  be  deposed  for  the  "crime  of  conspiracy"  against  a 
Bishop,  as  the  law  was  given  for  such  cases  by  the  eighteenth 
canon  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon.  In  the  course  of  this  pas- 
toral Bishop  Ives  refers  to  the  clerical  body  under  him  at 
Yalle  Crusis,  the  "Order  of  the  Holy  Cross,"  and  sets  forth 
extracts  from  the  constitution  of  that  organization.  There 
was  another  clerical  order,  in  New  York — probably  the  "Ecclesi- 
ologists,"  though  he  does  not  so  designate  it — whose  members, 
he  said,  had  come  to  him,  after  the  General  Convention  of 
1847,  for  Episcopal  guidance,  wishing  to  be  transferred  to 
North  Carolina.  To  these  youthful  clergymen  he  had  said  in 
substance :  "Young  gentlemen,  if  you  come  to  me  as  faithful 
sons  of  our  branch  of  the  Church,  asking  my  spiritual  counsel 
and  guidance,  I  will  receive  you,  and  do  all  in  my  power  to 
encourage  and  strengthen  your  Catholic  views  and  desires,  so 
far  as  they  are  in  agreement  with  our  Liturgy,  fairly  interpreted 
by  the  Creeds  and  Councils  of  the  primitive  Church.  But  if 
you  have  any  views  beyond  our  Church,  and  hope  to  be  counte- 
nanced in  them  by  me,  I  must,  at  once,  undeceive  you  by  de- 
clining any  further  interview."  The  Bishop  adds:  "They  all 
declared  their  fidelity  to  our  branch  of  the  Church,  and  I  con- 
sented to  receive  them."  Bishop  Ives  dwells,  in  this  pastoral, 
upon  the  doctrines  of  auricular  confession,  private  absolution, 
the  "real  presence"  in  the  Eucharist  (some  months  later  denying 
that  he  meant  transubstantiation  thereby),  prayers  for  the 
dead  and  invocation  to  saints — all  of  which  practices  he  ap- 
proves, fortifying  his  assertions  with  various  authorities. 
Though  he  lived  nearly  a  score  of  years  longer,  the  Bishop 
thought  his  earthly  career  was  drawing  to  a  close  when  this 
letter  was  written  for,  in  the  course  of  it,  he  said:  "This  is 
my  last  address  to  a  convention  of  this  Diocese — of  which, 
frequently  recurring  disease  gives  timely  notice." 


118  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

The  doctrines  declared  and  powers  claimed  by  Bishop  Ives, 
in  the  above  pastoral,  brought  forth  a  shower  of  pamphlets  in 
reply.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  Senator  Badger's 
monograph.  Another,  entitled  Auricular  Confession,  was  put 
forth  by  the  Reverend  Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.D.,  v/ho  wrote 
under  the  pseudonym  of  "A  Protestant  Episcopalian,"  and 
who  incidentally  mentioned  that  he  had  studied  for  holy  orders 
under  Bishop  Eavenscroft,  whom  Ives  had  cited  in  support  of 
some  of  his  contentions.  Doctor  Hawks  said  that  he  knew  from 
Ravenscroft's  own  lips  that  he  held  in  abhorrence  the  Romish 
contentions  as  to  transubstantiation,  auricular  confession,  etc. 
The  learned  divine  and  historiographer,  Reverend  Samuel 
Farmer  Jarvis,  D.D.,  "with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop  of 
Connecticut,"  also  answered  in  a  pamphlet  called  A  Voice  from 
Connecticut.  The  Reverend  John  H.  Hanson,  of  Weddington, 
'New  York,  issued  a  tract  called  The  Doctrine  of  Repentance, 
in  which  he  took  issue  with  Bishop  Ives.  Another  brief  work, 
Puseyite  Developments  or  Notices  of  the  New  York  Ecclesiolo- 
gists,  by  a  layman,  was  published  about  the  society  of  ''Ecclesi- 
ologists"  and  "dedicated  to  their  patron,  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Ives,  of  North  Carolina."  The  Reverend  Richard  Sharpe 
Mason,  D.D.,  Rector  of  Christ  Church  in  Raleigh,  who  had  been 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church,  on 
whose  report  the  Convention  at  Salisbury  had  acted,  also  went 
into  print  with  A  Letter  to  the  Bishop  of  North  Carolina,  in 
which — after  defending  the  Convention's  course,  and  exposing 
the  past  inconsistencies  of  Bishop  Ives,  and  his  numerous  eva- 
sions— he  begged  him  to  be  more  open  in  future  dealings  with 
his  Diocese.  "Let  me  beseech  you,"  he  said,  "to  remove,  if 
possible,  our  doubts  and  difficulties;  to  speak  so  clearly  and 
fully  that  hereafter  we  cannot  mistake  you."  Senator  Badger 
prefaced  his  remarks  by  saying: 

"If  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  be,  as  its  enemies  have  often 
said,  but  a  disguised  form  of  Romanism :  if  our  Bishop  be  alone 
responsible  for  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  worship  of  his  diocese. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  119 

and  tliert'fore  shonltl  have  sole  authority  over  what  he  is  alone 
resix)iisihle  for ;  if  he  have,  as  a  consequence  of  this  autliority  and 
responsil)ility,  a  right  to  require  from  liis  diocese  implicit  submission 
to  any  doctrine  he  may  think  proper  to  teach — a  right  to  introduce 
amongst  us  ceremonies  and  practices  not  only  unknown  here,  not  only 
unknown  throughout  the  Church  in  the  United  States,  but  'wholly 
unauthorized  by  the  customs  of  the  church  as  established  by  the 
English  reformation' ;  if  the  clergy  and  laity,  assembled  in  diocesan 
couvention.  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  doctrines  thus  taught  and 
the  practices  thus  introduced — can  institute  no  inquiry,  and  can  ex- 
press no  opinion  respecting  them ;  if  he  may  set  forth  at  one  time 
teachings  different  from  and  opposed  to  the  teachings  set  forth  by 
him  at  another,  and  the  members  of  the  church  must  follow  all  his 
fluctuations  of  doctrine  even  as  the  obedient  vane  follows  the  shift- 
ings  of  the  wind ;  if,  in  one  word,  our  Bishop  be  within  his  diocese  a 
spiritual  lord  and  master  over  God's  heritage,  and  have  papal  suprem- 
acy over  us,  then  it  is  higli  time  that  our  actual  state  and  condition 
should  be  known  ;  and,  if  these  things  be  not  so,  then  it  is  high  time 
that  the  church  at  large  should  be  disabused,  and  we  vindicated  from 
the  suspicion  of  admitting  such  exorbitant  claims,  and  bowing  down 
in  such  degrading  submission." 

In  addition  to  the  above  pamphlets,  one  was  published  in 
Ifew  York  to  uphold  the  views  set  forth  by  Bishop  Ives,  this 
being  entitled  The  Voice  of  the  Anglican  Church  on  Confession, 
and  it  was  said  that  the  Bishop  himself  had  a  hand  in  its  prepa- 
ration. To  this  came  a  reply  called  The  Voice  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  on  Confession.  This 
reply,  speaking  of  the  first  mentioned  publication,  stated :  ''One 
of  the  Bishops  of  our  Church  is  reputed  to  be  the  editor,  and  it 
is  said  to  be  the  precursor  of  several  discourses  which  are  soon 
to  emanate  from  the  same  quarter  in  favor  of  Auricular  Con- 
fession." 

In  a  case  of  differences  in  opinion  it  is  somewhere  written : 
"Let's  quarrel  about  these  matters ;  it  Avill  make  us  better  friends, 
seeing  that  we  shall  know  each  other's  thoughts  and  rights." 
And  even  so  it  seemed,  after  Bishop  Ives  had  relieved  his  feel- 
ings in  his  pastoral  letter,  and  after  his  opponents  had  relieved 
theirs  through  the  numerous  pamphlets  above  alluded  to;  for, 
when  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  !N'orth  Carolina  met  in  Eliza- 
beth City,  May  29-June  3,  1850,  the  Bishop,  in  his  address, 

VIII 


120  Bishops  of  JSTgrth  Carolina. 

expressed  regret  over  the  fact  that  any  of  the  expressions  in  his 
pastoral  letter  should  have  seemed  to  indicate  a  lack  of  confi- 
dence in  the  motives,  truthfulness  or  faith  of  his  clergy — further 
assuring  them  that  he  had  entire  confidence  in  their  affection, 
charity  and  firm  adherence  to  the  faith  and  discipline  of  the 
Church.  He  then  went  on  to  declare  that  he  did  not  hold  to 
the  doctrine  of  private  confession  and  absolution  "in  the  Eomish 
sense,"  nor  did  he  teach  that  the  real  presence  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ,  in  the  Eucharist,  was  to  be  believed  in  the  sense 
of  transubstantiation,  or  that  the  bread  and  wine  should  be 
"reserved,  carried  about,  lifted  up  or  worshipped,"  and  that 
he  considered  prayers  or  invocations  to  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
saints  or  angels  "clearly  derogatory  to  Christ  and  opposed  to 
God's  "Word."  In  conclusion  he  made  the  statement :  "I  do  not 
teach  or  hold  that  our  branch  of  the  Catholic  Church  is,  from 
any  cause,  either  in  heresy  or  schism,  or  that  she  is  destitute 
of  the  sacramental  system."  Apparently  wishing  to  leave  no 
means  unused  for  the  purpose  of  a  complete  reconciliation,  the 
Bishop  also  addressed  the  Convention  in  a  note  as  follows: 

Beetheen  of  this  Convention  :  Aware  that  tlie  difficulties  in  the 
Diocese,  to  which  I  have  alluded  in  my  address,  still  threaten  the 
peace  of  the  same,  and  being  anxious  to  do  all  in  my  power  to 
restore  harmony  and  good  will,  I  hereby  ask  of  you  a  Committee  of 
Clergj^men  and  Laymen,  to  investigate  all  the  circumstances  connected 
therewith,  and  report  to  a  future  meeting  of  this  body. 

L.  SiLLiMAN  Ives, 

May  31,  1850.  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina. 

This  recommendation  by  the  Bishop  was  adopted,  and  the 
following  committee  was  elected:  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Jarvis 
B.  Buxton,  Robert  Brent  Drane  and  Richard  Sharpe  Mason, 
of  the  clergy,  and  Messrs.  Augustus  Moore,  Josiah  Collins  and 
George  "W,  Mordecai,  of  the  laity.  The  Reverend  Doctor  Mason 
and  Mr.  Mordecai  asked  to  be  excused  by  the  Convention  from 
serving  on  this  committee,  but  their  request  was  not  complied 
with.  This  about  completed  the  preliminary  efforts  for  recon- 
ciliation between  the  Bishop  and  the  Diocesan  Convention  which 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  121 

was  held  in  the  S])riug  of  1S50.  Some  months  later  (in  October 
of  the  same  year)  the  General  Convention  of  the  Church  met 
in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Bishop  Ives  being  present  in 
person  as  representative  of  North  Carolina  in  the  House  of 
Bishops.  The  clerical  deputies  present  from  North  Carolina 
were  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Richard  Sharpe  Mason,  Jarvis  B. 
Buxton  and  Alfred  A.  Watson.  Among  the  lay  deputies  was 
only  one  representative  from  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina, 
Mr.  John  S.  Eaton,  of  the  town  of  Henderson.  In  the  report 
on  the  State  of  the  Church  in  North  Carolina  brief  reference 
was  made  to  the  appointment  of  the  above  committee  at  the 
request  of  Bishop  Ives,  with  the  further  statement  that  its  in- 
vestigations were  then  in  progress.  It  was  added:  "The  re- 
port of  the  Committee  will  be  made  to  the  next  annual  [dio- 
cesan] convention.  In  the  meantime  it  is  c6nsoling  to  add  that, 
whatever  may  be  the  result,  the  Diocese,  true  to  the  Prayer 
Book  as  the  embodiment  of  the  Church  mind,  remains  unshaken 
on  ground  hitherto  occupied." 

In  the  spring  of  1851  (May  30th)  the  Reverend  Jarvis  Barry 
Buxton,  Rector  of  Saint  John's  Church  in  Fayetteville,  passed 
from  his  earthly  labors.  During  the  following  year  a  hand- 
some edition  of  his  sermons,  with  portrait,  was  published  by 
his  son,  the  Reverend  Jarvis  Buxton,  of  Asheville. 

The  North  Carolina  Diocesan  Convention,  for  the  year  1851, 
met  in  the  months  of  May  and  June  at  the  town  of  Fayette- 
ville; and,  during  the  session  of  that  body,  it  seemed  as  if  a 
permanent  peace  with  Bishop  Ives  could  be  arranged,  for  he 
even  surpassed  his  own  record  in  the  way  of  professions  of 
loyalty  to  the  Church  over  which  he  presided  as  chief  pastor. 
In  his  address,  after  giving  an  account  of  his  usual  visitations 
throughout  the  Diocese,  and  attendance  upon  the  General  Con- 
vention in  Cincinnati,  as  well  as  trips  to  Philadelphia,  New 
York  and  other  Northern  cities,  he  submitted  two  documents 
which  had  been  transmitted  to  him  by  authorities  of  the  Church 
of  England — one  from  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the 


122  Bishops  of  J^^orth  Carolina. 

other  from  tlie  Bishop  and  other  clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Ox- 
ford. The  Archbishop's  letter  invited  all  the  dioceses  of  the 
American  Church  to  join  with  the  Church  of  England  in  cele- 
brating the  one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding 
of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts.  Bishop  Ives  signified  his  desire  that  the  same  should 
be  accepted  and  that  appropriate  services  in  connection  there- 
with should  also  be  held  throughout  ISTorth  Carolina.  "We  are 
unable  to  find  any  record  of  such  action  having  taken  place 
within  the  limits  of  the  State.  Elsev/here  in  America,  however, 
the  anniversary  was  commemorated.  Doctor  Atkinson  (after- 
wards Bishop  of  ISTorth  Carolina)  delivered  a  sermon  in  Saint 
Peter's  Church,  Baltimore,  on  June  22,  1851,  in  honor  of  the 
anniversary.  The  other  document,  referred  to  above  by  Bishop 
Ives,  was  dated  JSToveniber  22,  1850,  and  was  a  formal  protest, 
signed  by  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Oxford,  with  more  than  six  hun- 
dred of  his  clergy,  and  having  reference  to  what  afterwards 
came  to  be  known  among  Englishmen  as  "the  new  Italian  Mis- 
sion." The  protest  was  called  forth  by  the  fact  (to  use,  in  part, 
its'  own  language)  that : 

"Whebeas,  We  have  seen  or  heard  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  has 
pretended  to  divide  this  ancient  Church  and  Realm  of  England  into 
certain  new  Dioceses,  and  to  appoint  over  them  certain  Bishops,  to 
whom  he,  the  said  Bishop  of  Rome,  pretends  to  commit  the  cure  and 
government  of  the  souls  of  all  Christian  people  therein  dwelling,  con- 
trary to  the  rights  of  this  Church,  and  the  ancient  laws  of  this  Realm 
— Now  we,  the  said  Bishop,  Priests,  and  Deacons,  whose  names  are 
hereunto  subscribed,  do  utterly  protest  against  any  such  invasion  of 
this  Church  and  Realm ;  and  we  do  declare  that  the  Church  recog- 
nized by  law  in  this  land  is  the  ancient  Apostolic  Church  thereof, 
possessing  the  ancient  faith,  true  sacraments,  and  a  lawful  ministry ; 
and  that  her  Bishops  and  Clergy  are  the  Bishops  and  Clergy  thereof 
by  unbroken  descent  from  the  Holy  Apostles ;  and  that  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  within  this  land,  who  are  striving  to 
withdraw  the  people  from  the  communion  of  the  English  Church,  are 
intrusive  and  sehismatical ;  and  we  protest  before  God  and  His 
Church  against  these  sehismatical  claims  and  proceedings,  as  also 
against  their  docti-ine  and  teaching,  as  being,  on  many  points  of  faith 
and  practice,  contrary  to  God's  Word,  and  the  teachings  of  the  Univer- 


Bishops  of  Xorth  Cakolina.  123 

sal  C'lmvch.  .  .  .  And  we  declare  that  the  Chuivh  of  England  did. 
at  the  Reformation,  make  and  hath  for  three  luiiutred  year.s  continued 
its  protest  against  the  claim  of  the  said  Bishop  of  Rome  to  exercise 
jurisdiction  over  the  Church  Universal,  and  over  this  Church  of  Eng- 
land in  particular,  and  also  against  the  false  doctrine  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  and  that  we  do  now  renew  and  continue  the  same  protest. 
And  we  do  solemnly  warn  all  Christian  people,  committed  to  our 
charge,  that  they  yield  no  obedience  to  the  so-called  Bishops  now 
thrust  into  our  land,  under  pain  of  incurring  all  the  guilt  of  willful 
schism." 

In  transmitting  the  above  document  to  the  Diocesan  Con- 
vention of  N'orth  Carolina,  Bishop  Ives  declared  that  this  action 
by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the  Diocese  of  Oxford  had 
his  "full,  unreserved  and  hearty  approval  and  concurrence,'' 
and  that  it  was  his  conscientious  conviction  that  "our  branch 
of  the  Church  styled  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,  and  standing  upon  the  same  firm  basis  with  the 
mother  Church  of  England,  belongs  to  that  portion  of  Christ's 
body  which  is  the  most  scriptural,  primitive  and  truly  Catholic 
in  its  character;  and  that  no  one,  embraced  by  holy  baptism 
within  its  pale,  can  depart  from  it  without  the  grievous  sin  of 
doing  despite  to  the  Holy  Ghost." 

At  the  same  Diocesan  Convention  of  North  Carolina  above 
alluded  to  (that  of  1851)  the  Committee,  which  had  been  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose  of  endeavoring  to  reconcile  the  differ- 
ences between  the  Diocese  and  its  Bishop,  reported  its  findings. 
This  report,  followed  by  the  Bishop's  own  certificate  of  its  cor- 
rectness, was  in  these  words : 

"The  Bishop  said  to  the  Committee  that  it  might  be  considered 
humiliating  in  him  to  offer  to  the  Committee  the  statement  he  was 
now  about  to  make,  but  a  sense  of  duty,  both  to  himself  and  to  the 
Church,  compelled  him  to  do  so.  That  it  had  been  at  one  time  a  very 
favorite  idea  with  him  to  bring  about  a  union  of  the  Roman,  the 
Greek,  the  Anglican,  and  the  American  Churches ;  and  that,  in  his 
zeal  for  Catholic  union,  he  had  overlooked  the  difficulties  in  the  way. 
which  he  was  now  satisfied  were  insuperable.  That  this  tendency  of 
his  mind  toward  a  union  of  the  Churches  had  been  greatly  increased, 
and  his  ability  to  perceive  the  difficulties  in  the  way  had  been  dimin- 
ished, by  a  high  state  of  nervous  excitement  arising  either  from  bodUy 


124  Bishops  of  Worth  Carolina. 

disease  or  a  constitutional  infirmity.  That,  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
favorite  idea,  he  had  been  insensibly  led  into  the  adoption  of  opinions 
on  matters  of  doctrine,  and  to  a  public  teaching  of  them,  of  the  im- 
propriety of  which  he  was  now  fully  satisfied ;  and,  upon  a  review  of 
those  opinions,  wonders  that  he  should  ever  have  entertained  them. 
That  this  change  in  his  views  has  been  brought  about  in  part  by  a 
I'eturn  to  a  more  healthy  condition  of  mind  and  body,  but  mainly 
from  having  perceived  the  tendency  of  those  doctrines  to  the  Church 
of  Rome,  as  sad  experience  has  shown  in  the  cases  of  Arch-Deacon 
Manning  and  others.  That  among  the  effects  of  his  desii*e  to  bring 
about  this  union  of  the  Churches,  he  was  induced  to  tolerate  the 
Romish  notion  of  the  Invocation  of  Saints,  as  expressed  in  his  letter 
to  the  Rev.  C.  F.  McRae,  which  expressions  he  now  retracts  and 
would  denounce  as  strongly  as  any  one.  That  on  the  subject  of  auric- 
ular confession  and  absolution,  whatever  extravagancies  of  opinion  or 
expression  he  may  have  heretofore  indulged,  he  now  holds  that  con- 
fession to  a  priest  is  not  necessary  to  salvation ;  and  that  he  does  not 
believe  in  judicial  absolution,  or  the  power  of  the  priest  to  forgive 
sins.  Nor  does  he  hold  that  the  absolution  recognized  by  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church  is  merely  declaratory,  but  that  the  priest  is 
thei'ein  an  instniment  through  whom  pardon  is  transmitted  to  the 
penitent,  while  its  efl5cacy  does  not  in  any  degree  depend  upon  the 
volition  or  intention  of  the  priest.  That  absolution  is  not  essentially 
necessary  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  but  that  it  is  important  when 
practicable  to  obtain  public  absolution  as  contained  in  the  ritual  of 
our  Church,  which  is  the  only  absolution  that  he  holds  proper,  except 
in  those  cases  in  which  that  is  impracticable.  That  he  had  at  one 
time,  under  the  influences  before  mentioned,  entertained  doubts 
whether  our  branch  of  the  Church  was  not  in  a  state  of  schism.  That 
he  had  never  gone  so  far  as  to  believe  that  it  was,  but  merely  enter- 
tained doubts.  He  was  now  satisfied,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  she  was 
not  in  schism.  That  he  had  never  held  the  doctrine  of  the  real  pres- 
ence in  the  Holy  Communion,  as  synonymous  with  transubstantiation, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  had  always  abhorred  it.  He  admitted  that,  on 
a  review  of  some  of  his  writings,  he  had  become  satisfied  that  he  had 
exposed  himself  to  misconstruction  by  the  use  of  the  term  'real  pres- 
ence,' which  was  in  the  Romish  Church  synonymous  with  transubstan- 
tiation. But  in  the  use  of  the  term  'real  presence,'  he  had  in  mind 
only  the  spiritual  presence  of  Christ.  That  the  term  spiritual  pres- 
ence was  the  only  one  proper  to  be  used,  as  the  general  expression 
'real  presence'  was,  in  the  present  state  of  the  Christian  world,  liable 
to  be  understood  as  asserting  Christ's  bodily  presence  in  the  Eucha- 
rist—being used  by  the  Romish  Church  to  express  its  idea  of  transub- 
stantiation. And  that  the  spiritual  presence  of  Christ  in  the  Eucha- 
rist is  all  that  our  Church  teaches,  and  would  recommend  the  use  of 
that  expression  instead  of  real  presence." 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  125 

Under  this  report  was  a  signed  endorsement  by  the  Bishop  in 

the  folloAving  words : 

"The  above  is  correct.  L.  S.  Ivi:s." 

This  same  Committee  also  reported  that  the  Bishop  had  dis- 
claimed having  had  anything  to  do  with  the  authorship  of  the 
tract  called  The  Voice  of  the  Anglican  Church  on  Confession; 
but  he  admitted  that,  while  in  New  York,  on  learning  that  such 
a  compilation  had  been  made  by  two  clergymen  in  whom  he  had 
entire  confidence,  he  determined  (without  verifying  its  quota- 
tions) to  publish  it  as  an  appendix  to  his  sermons.  When  he 
ascertained  its  true  character,  however,  he  immediately  counter- 
manded its  publication,  and  regretted  ever  having  had  anything 
to  do  with  it.  As  to  the  ''Order  of  the  Holy  Cross,"  that  society 
had  not  existed  in  ISTorth  Carolina  since  the  Salisbury  Con- 
vention, said  the  Bishop;  and  he  further  declared  that,  from 
his  observation  of  past  results  upon  the  minds  of  young  men, 
he  was  satisfied  that  no  vows  ought  to  be  taken  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  except  those  expressly  allowed  or  required 
by  its  ritual.  Yalle  Crusis,  he  added,  was  now  only  a  mission 
station. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1851, 
Bishop  Ives  continued  in  his  ministry,  performing  the  duties 
of  the  Episcopate  as  though  no  troubles  had  existed  between 
him  and  his  Church.  The  next  Diocesan  Convention  met  (May, 
1852)  in  Fayetteville,  and  the  Bishop  was  there  present.  In 
his  journal  he  gave  the  usual  account  of  his  visitations  through- 
out the  Diocese,  prefacing  the  same  with  exhortations  to  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  "our  branch  of  the  Church  Catholic"  to  be 
faithful  to  the  teachings  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which 
he  declared  was  based  absolutely  upon  the  teachings  of  Scrip- 
tures. He  added:  "But  do  not  misapprehend  me.  It  is  far 
from  my  intention  to  teach  that  the  Prayer  Book  has  any  truth 
or  value  independent  of  God's  Word.  For  my  conviction  is 
that  its  truth  and  value  are  identical  with  that  Word,  and  come 
solely  from  it,  as  the  source  of  all  that  is  necessary,  either  to  be 


126  Bishops  of  ]!^orth  Cakoli^sta. 

believed  or  practiced,  for  the  salvation  of  men.  And  further, 
when  the  Prayer  Book  is  assailed  by  its  enemies  as  nnscriptural, 
I  maintain  that  we  are  to  go  to  the  Scriptures  for  its  defense." 
^Tothing  of  especial  note  happened  at  the  above  Convention, 
but  some  months  later  (September  27,  1852)  Bishop  Ives  ad- 
dressed a  communication  to  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
Diocese,  stating  that,  on  account  of  the  ill  health  of  both  Mrs. 
Ives  and  himself,  he  wished  to  obtain  a  leave  of  absence  from 
the  Diocese  for  six  months  after  the  1st  of  October,  with  an 
advance  of  $1,000  on  his  salary,  his  intention  being  to  spend 
that  time  in  travel.  This  request  being  granted,  he  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  same  committee  the  following  communication : 

I  hereby  authorize  the  Standing  Committee  of  Nortli  Carolina,  in 
my  absence  from  the  Diocese,  to  invite  any  Bishop  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  to  perform  Episcopal  duty  in 
my  place.  L.  Silliman  Ives, 

Raleigh,  September  30,  1852.  Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 

Shortly  after  writing  the  communication  just  quoted  Bishop 
Ives  embarked  for  Europe;  and,  almost  immediately  after  his 
arrival,  repaired  to  the  city  of  Rome,  where,  on  Christmas  day, 
1852,  he  formally  renounced  the  Church  in  which  he  was  Bishop 
and  made  submission  to  the  Pope.  As  has  already  been  shown, 
he  had  assigned  the  ill  health  of  himself  and  his  wife  as  the 
reason  for  wishing  to  go  abroad,  and  had  secured  permission 
to  draw  $1,000  in  advance  on  his  salary  for  traveling  expenses ; 
yet  a  Eoman  Catholic  paper  published  in  France,  L'Univers, 
stated  at  the  time  that  he  had  really  gone  to  Europe  v/ith  the 
secret  and  pre-arranged  purpose  of  taking  the  course  which  he 
did.  The  statement  in  this  paper— a  translation  of  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Churchman  and  which  is  reproduced  in  Doctor 
Seabury's  work  The  Continuity  of  the  Church  of  England — 
was  as  follows : 

"Dr.  Ives  left  America  some  weeks  ago,  to  go  and  make  his  solemn 
abjuration  of  the  errors  of  Protestantism  at  the  feet  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff.     Before  his  departure  he  gave  his  retraction  into  the  hands 


Bishops  of  North  CAKOLI^'A.  127 

of  the  Airhliisliop  of  New  York,  and  partifipatod  in  the  sai  raniriits 
of  the  Church ;  but  the  veuerable  convert  wished  this  act  to  be  kept 
secret  in  order  to  procure  from  Pius  IX.  the  sweet  consolation  of  him- 
self receiving  him  into  liis  Hock.  However,  considering  the  possibility 
that  he  might  be  lost  on  his  voyage,  Dr.  Ives  gave  to  Archbishop 
Hughes  his  abjuration  in  writing,  furnished  with  the  most  incontesti- 
ble  characters  of  authenticity,  in  order  that  this  document  might  be 
made  public  in  case  of  accident." 

Three  days  before  formally  making  liis  submission  to  the 
Pope,  Bishop  Ives  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Diocese  of  North 
Carolina  in  these  words: 

Rome,  December  22d,  1852. 

For  the  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  Diocese 
of  North  Carolina: 
Dear  Brethren  :  Some  of  you.  at  least,  are  aware  that,  for  years, 
doubts  of  the  validity  of  my  office  as  Bishop  have  at  times  harassed 
my  mind  and  greatly  enfeebled  my  action.  At  other  times,  it  is  true, 
circumstances  have  arisen  to  overrule  these  doubts  and  to  bring  to 
my  uund  temiwrary  relief.  But  it  has  been  only  temporary,  for,  in 
spite  of  my  resolutions  to  abandon  the  reading  and  use  of  Catholic 
books,  in  spite  of  earnest  prayers  and  entreaties  that  God  would  pro- 
tect my  mind  again.st  the  disturbing  influence  of  Catholic  tx'uth,  and 
in  spite  of  public  and  private  professions  and  declarations,  v.hich,  in 
times  of  suspended  doubt,  I  sincerely  made  to  shield  myself  from 
suspicion  and  win  back  the  confidence  of  my  Diocese,  which  had  been 
well  nigh  lost ;  in  spite  of  all  this  and  of  many  other  considerations, 
which  would  rise  up  before  me  as  the  necessary  consequence  of  suffer- 
ing my  mind  to  be  carried  forward  in  the  direction  in  wiiieh  my  doubts 
pointed,  these  doubts  would  again  return  with  increased  and  almost 
overwhelming  vigor — goading  me  at  times  to  the  veiy  borders  of 
derangement.  Under  these  doubts  I  desired  temporary  repose  from 
duties  that  had  become  disquieting  to  me,  and  determined  to  accom- 
pany Mrs.  Ives,  whose  health  demanded  a  change  of  climate,  in  a 
short  absence  abroad.  But  absence  has  brought  no  relief  to  my  mind. 
Indeed,  the  doubts  that  disturbed  it  have  grown  into  clear  and  settled 
convictions — so  clear  and  settled  that,  without  a  violation  of  con- 
science and  honor  and  every  obligation  of  duty  to  God  and  His 
Church,  I  can  no  longer  remain  in  my  position.  I  am  called  upon, 
therefore,  to  do  an  act  of  self-sacrifice,  in  view  of  which  all  other 
self-sacrificing  acts  of  my  life  are  less  than  nothing — called  upon  to 
sever  the  ties,  which  have  been  sti'engthened  by  long  years  of  love 
and  forbearance,  which  have  bound  my  heart  to  many  of  you  as  was 
David's  to  that  of  Jonathan,  and  make  that  heart  bleed  as  my  hand 
traces  the  sentence  which  separates  all  pastoral  relation  between  us 


128  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

aud  conveys  to  you  the  knowledge  that  I  hereby  resigti  into  your 
hands  my  office  as  Bishop  of  North  Carolina ;  and,  further,  that  I  am 
determined  to  make  my  submission  to  the  Catholic  Church. 

In  addition,  my  feelings  will  allow  me  only  to  say  that,  as  this  act 
is  earlier  than  any  perception  of  my  own,  and  antedates  by  some 
months  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which  I  asked  leave  of  absence, 
and  for  which  I  so  promptly  received  from  members  of  your  body  an 
advance  of  salary,  I  hereby  renounce  all  claim  upon  the  same,  and 
acknowledge  myself  bound,  on  an  intimation  of  your  wish,  to  return 
whatever  you  may  have  advanced  to  me  beyond  this  22d  day  of 
December. 

With  continued  affection  and  esteem,  I  pray  you  to  allow  me  stUl 
to  subscribe  myself, 

Your  faithful  friend,  L.  Silliman  Ives. 

In  due  time  the  above  communication  was  laid  before  tbe 
Diocesan  Convention  v^hicli  assembled  in  Cbrist  Cburch,  in  the 
city  of  Raleigh,  during  the  month  of  May,  1853.  That  body, 
upon  receipt  of  the  Bishop's  letter,  elected  a  successor  in  the 
person  of  the  Reverend  Thomas  Atkinson,  D.  D. — Doctor  At- 
kinson receiving  twenty  out  of  the  twenty-seven  votes  cast  on  the 
last  ballot,  which  occurred  on  May  28th.  A  committee  was 
also  appointed  to  report  the  circumstances,  connected  with  the 
defection  of  Bishop  Ives,  to  the  next  General  Convention  of  the 
Church.  This  General  Convention  assembled  in  the  city  of 
l^ew  York  in  the  month  of  October,  1853,  and  received  official 
notice,  in  due  form,  of  the  above  matter.  Before  consecrating 
a  successor  to  Bishop  Ives — whose  resignation  did  not  fulfill, 
in  its  form,  the  requirements  of  the  canon  law  of  the  Church — 
the  General  Convention  proceeded  formally  to  vacate  his  office 
by  a  sentence  of  deposition  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  Levi  Silliman  Ives,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  la  the  United  States,  in  the  Diocese  of  North  Caro- 
lina, in  a  communication  under  his  proper  hand,  bearing  date  'Rome, 
December  twenty-second,  one  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  fifty-two,' 
avowed  his  purpose  to  resign  his  'office  as  Bishop  of  North  Carolina' 
and  further  declared  that  he  was  'determined  to  make  his  submission 
to  the  Catholic  [meaning  the  Roman]  Church' ; 

"And  whereas.  There  is  before  the  Bishops  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  United  States,  acting  under  the  provision  of 
Canon  First  of  1853.  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  said  Levi  Silliman 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  129 

Ives.  D.  D.,  has  publicly  renounced  the  conununiou  of  the  Church,  and 
made  his  sulmiission  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  as  Universal  Bishop  of 
the  Church  of  God  and  Vicar  of  Christ  upon  earth,  thus  acknowledg- 
ing these  impious  pretensions  of  that  Bisliop,  thereby  violating  the 
vows  solennily  made  by  him,  the  said  Levi  Silliman  Ives.  D.  D.,  at  his 
consecration  as  a  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  God,  abandoning  that  por- 
tion of  the  floclc  of  Christ  committed  to  his  oversight,  and  binding 
himself  under  anathema  to  the  anti-Christian  doctrines  and  practices 
imposed  by  the  Council  of  Trent  upon  all  the  Chuivhes  of  the  Roman 
Obedience : 

"Be  it  therefore  known,  That  on  this  fourteenth  day  of  October, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  fifty-three, 
I,  Thomas  Church  Brownell,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  by  Divine  permission. 
Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut,  and  Presiding  Bishop  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,  with  the  consent 
of  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Bishops,  as  hereinafter 
enumerated,  to-wit,  William  Meade,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Virginia ;  John  Henry  Hopl^ins,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Ver- 
mont ;  Benjamin  Bosworth  Smith,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Kentucky;  Charles  Pettit  M'Uwaiue,  D.  D.,  D.  C.  L.,  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  of  Ohio ;  George  Washington  Doane.  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Bishop  of 
the  Diocese  of  New  .Jersey ;  James  Hervey  Otey,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  of  Tennessee ;  Jackson  Kemper,  D.  D.,  Missionary  Bishop  of 
Wisconsin  and  the  Northwest;  Samuel  Allen  McCoskry,  D.  D., 
D.  C.  L.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Michigan ;  William  Heathcote 
DeLancey.  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  D.  C.  L..  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Western 
New  York;  William  Rollinson  Whittingham,  D.  D.,  Bishpp  of  the 
Diocese  of  Maryland;  Stephen  Elliott,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  of  Georgia ;  Alfred  Lee,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Dela- 
ware ;  John  .Johns,  D.  D.,  Assistant  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Vir- 
ginia ;  Manton  Eastbum,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Massachu- 
setts; Carlton  Chase,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New  Hamp- 
shire; Nicholas  Hanmer  Cobbs.  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Alabama ;  Cicero  Stephens  Haw-ks,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Missouri ;  George  Washington  Freeman,  D.  D.,  Missionary  Bishop  of 
the  Southwest;  Alonzo  Potter,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese 
of  Pennsylvania ;  George  Burgess.  D.  D..  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of 
Maine ;  George  LTpfold,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Indiana ; 
William  Mercer  Green,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Mississippi ; 
Francis  Huger  Rutledge,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Florida ; 
John  Williams,  D.  D.,  Assistant  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut ; 
Henry  John  Whitehouse,  D.  D..  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Illinois ; 
and  Jonathan  Mayhew  Wainright,  D.  D.,  D.  C.  L.,  Provisional  Bishop 
of  the  Diocese  of  New  York,  and  in  the  terms  of  the  Canon  in  such 
cases  made  and  provided,  do  pronounce  the  said  Levi  Silliman  Ives, 
D.  D..  ipso  facto  deposed,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  from  the  ofBce 


130  Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolijta. 

of  n  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  God,  and  from  all  the  rights,  privileges, 
powers,  and  dignities  thereunto  appertaining. 

"In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Sou,  and  of  the  Holy- 
Ghost — Amen  !  Thomas  Church  Bkownell, 

Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Connecticut,  and  Presiding  Bishop." 

Speaking,  many  years  later,  of  the  above  action  by  tbe  Gen- 
eral Convention  in  1853,  the  CMirchman,  in  its  issue  of  Janu- 
ary 15,  1881,  said:  "JSFone  who  witnessed  it  will  ever  forget 
the  solemn  scene  in  the  House  of  Deputies  when,  with  both 
Houses  standing  around  and  before  him,  the  venerable  Presid- 
ing Bishop  Brownell  pronounced  sentence  of  deposition  on  the 
late  Bishop  of  N'orth  Carolina."  Three  days  after  the  above- 
quoted  sentence  of  deposition  was  pronounced,  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Atkinson  was  duly  consecrated  Bishop  of  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina. 

When  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  l^orth  Carolina  met  at 
Wilmington  in  1854,  a  communication  was  laid  before  that 
body  from  the  Reverend  John  Murray  Forbes  (a  convert  to 
the  Church  of  Rome,  who  later  returned  to  the  Anglican  faith), 
wherein  the  writer  stated  that  he  had  been  authorized  by  Doctor 
Ives  to  tender  a  return  of  such  money  as  had  been  advanced 
beyond  the  time  when  he  relinquished  his  Bishopric,  this  being 
estimated  by  him  as  about  $750.  Thereupon  the  President  of 
the  Standing  Committee  was  directed  to  advise  Doctor  Forbes 
that  the  Diocese  made  no  demand  upon  Doctor  Ives  for  this 
money,  but  left  the  matter  for  him  to  act  upon  as  he  might 
deem  right;  and  that  the  treasurer  of  the  Diocese,  Charles  T. 
Haigh,  was  authorized  to  receive  any  sums  which  might  be  due 
it.  This  seems  to  have  closed  the  incident,  as  reports  of  the 
treasurer,  in  the  several  succeeding  years,  fail  to  record  the 
receipt  of  such  money. 

If,  in  the  prime  of  his  influence  and  usefulness,  Doctor  Ives 
had  suddenly  embraced  the  faith  of  Rome  when  no  one  suspected 
his  fidelity  to  the  Church  wherein  he  held  a  Bishopric,  it 
would  have  been   considered   a  great   loss  to   the   latter   com- 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  lol 

raunion.  Coining,  as  it  did,  however,  after  nearly  four  years 
of  instability  and  secret  evasion  on  his  part,  with  well-grounded 
suspicion  and  distnist  on  the  part  of  his  people,  it  resulted  in 
benefit  rather  than  injury  to  the  Church  from  which  he  took 
his  departure.  In  the  report  on  the  State  of  the  Church  in 
Xorth  Carolina,  made  to  the  General  Convention  of  185-3,  it 
was  said:  "It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  single  person  in 
TTorth  Carolina  whose  allegiance  to  the  Church  has  been  at  all 
shaken  by  the  apostacy  of  her  late  Bishop.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  believed  that  all  members,  having  been  tried,  have  come 
forth  stronger  in  the  faith  and  stronger  in  love  to  the  Church." 
Three  years  later  a  report  of  the  same  character,  to  the  Gen- 
eral Convention  of  1856,  was  made  in  these  words:  "The 
apostacy  of  the  late  Bishop  produced  far  less  disastrous  results 
than  might  have  been  anticipated  from  the  authority  of  his 
office  and  the  love  and  influence  which  he  once  personally  en- 
joyed in  his  Diocese.  It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  his  open  de- 
fection, as  compared  with  his  former  equivocal  course,  was  a 
relief  rather  than  a  blow  to  the  Church,  by  putting  an  end  to 
paralyzing  fears  and  jealousies,  and  restoring  confidence  and 
affection  among  our  own  household  of  faith,  and  on  the  part 
of  the  community  towards  our  entire  body.  It  is  not  kno%vn 
that  a  single  person  in  the  Diocese  has  followed  the  example 
set  them  by  one  once  so  loved  and  honored."  This  report 
slightly  errs  in  saying  that  not  a  single  person  followed  the 
example  of  Bishop  Ives  when  he  renounced  the  Anglican  com- 
munion and  became  a  Roman  Catholic.  His  wife  took  the  same 
step,  as  did  also  Mrs.  Benjamin  Dickens  (formerl^^  Miss  Ella 
Eaton)  a  lady  from  j^orth  Carolina  who  went  to  Europe  v-^ith 
Bishop  and  Mrs.  Ives.  Mrs.  Dickens  was  a  half-sister  of 
Attorney-General  William  Eaton,  Jr.  After  staying  in  Italy 
a  while  she  contracted  such  an  aversion  for  Roman  Catholicism 
that  she  returned  to  JSTorth  Carolina,  and — washing  to  go  to 
the  antipodes  in  religious  doctrine — joined  the  Baptists.  She 
remained  a  Baptist  for  some  time,  and  later  j*efurned  to  the 


132  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

Episcopal  Church.  Her  second  husband  was  Peter  Hansborough 
Bell,  former  Governor  of  the  State  of  Texas,  who  spent  his 
last  years  at  Littleton,  North  Carolina.  Mrs.  Bell  died  m 
July,  1897,  at  Littleton,  and  her  funeral  services  were  con- 
ducted by  the  Keverend  Girard  W.  Phelps,  Eector  of  Saint 
Alban's  Church. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  statement,  in  1850, 
by  the  physician  of  Bishop  Ives,  that  his  mind  had  been  affected 
by  the  long  attack  of  fever  from  which  he  had  suffered,  and 
the  Bishop's  own  statement  that  some  of  his  past  actions  were 
due  to  "a  high  state  of  nervous  excitement,  arising  either  from 
bodily  disease  or  a  constitutional  infirmity,"  as  well  as  his 
belief  that  he  later  attained  "a  more  healthy  condition  of  mind 
and  body."  In  the  American  Church  Review,  of  April,  1853, 
was  a  long  account  of  the  Bishop's  various  inconsistencies  be- 
fore he  took  final  leave  of  the  Church.  The  editor  of  that  peri- 
odical expressed  the  opinion  that  Bishop  Ives  was  mentally 
unbalanced,  this  opinion  being  based  not  only  upon  the  Bishop's 
own  actions,  but  upon  the  fact  that  the  affection  was  hereditary 
in  his  branch  of  the  Ives  family.  After  stating  that  the  Bishop's 
own  father  had  drowned  himself  in  a  fit  of  insanity,  that  one 
of  his  father's  sisters  had  been  violently  insane  at  times,  and 
other  members  of  the  family  more  or  less  affected,  the  editor 
submitted  his  article  to  the  inspection  of  Bishop  Ives's  own 
brother  (then  holding  the  office  of  Probate  Judge  in  Walling- 
ford,  Connecticut),  and  the  latter  gentleman  authorized  the 
publication,  along  with  the  article,  of  a  statement  from  himself 
as  follows: 

Wallingford,  Conn.,  Feb.  25 th,  1853. 
To  the  Rkv.  Mr.  Richardson, 

Editor  of  the  Church  Review. 
Sir:  The  statements  which  you  have  read  to  me,  and  which  you 
propose  to  publish,  of  a  constitutional  tendency  to  mental  derange- 
ment in  my  father's  family,  and  also  of  certain  facts  in  proof  of  such 
a  tendency,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  are  fully  sustained  by  my 
own  personal  knowledge ;  nor  have  I  any  doubts  that  the  conduct  of 


Bishops  of  North  Cakoi.ina.  133 

Bishop  Ives-,  in  liis  late  defection  to  Rome,  must  be  attributed,  at 
least  iu  part,  to  that  same  cause,  viz. :  a  hereditary  tendency  to  men- 
tal derangement,  aggravated  by  disease  and  by  great  excitement. 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Ebfnezeb  H.  Ives. 

How  long  Doctor  Ives  remained  in  Rome  we  are  unable  to 
say  with  certainty.  He  was  there  in  February,  1854.  Later 
in  the  same  year  he  published  a  volume  entitled  The  Trials  of  a 
Mind  in -its  Progress  to  Catholicism.  After  much  argument 
and  many  citations  to  justify  the  course  he  had  pursued,  Doctor 
Ives  says  in  the  conclusion  of  this  work: 

"The  last  year  and  a  half  of  my  episcopate  was,  I  can  truly  say, 
the  most  trying,  the  most  painful  period  of  my  life,  although  one  of 
apparent  quietness,  official  success,  and  restored  confidence.  After 
the  immediate  effects  of  my  convention  in  the  Spring  of  1851  (which, 
as  you  will  remember,  resulted  in  a  reconciliation  between  myself  and 
the  disaffected  part  of  my  Diocese)  had  passed  off,  and  my  mind,  no 
longer  pressed  down  by  a  weight  of  sore  trial,  had  time  to  react,  it 
came  up  at  once,  and,  to  my  own  surprise,  to  its  former  level  of  Catho- 
lic belief;  indeed,  it  was  like  waking  from  a  pleasant  dream  to  a 
frightful  reality.  I  had  actually  flattered  myself  into  the  belief  that 
my  doubts  had  left  me,  and  that  I  could  henceforward  act  with  a 
quiet  conscience  on  Protestant  ground.  But,  on  recovering  from  the 
stupefaction  of  overmuch  sorrow.  I  found  myself  fearfully  deceived ; 
found  that  what  I  had  taken  for  permanent  relief  of  mind  was  only 
the  momentary  insensibility  of  opiates  or  exhaustion.  When  I  came 
again  to  myself,  however,  I  was  visited  with  reflections  which  no  man 
need  envy.  The  concessions  I  had  made,  in  good  faith  at  the  time,  for 
the  peace  of  the  Church,  and,  as  I  had  falsely  supposed,  for  my  own 
peace,  rose  up  before  me  as  so  many  concessions,  and  cowardly  ones 
too,  to  the  god  of  this  world.  So  that  I  can  say,  with  the  deepest 
truth,  that  the  friendliness  which  greeted  me,  on  my  subsequent  visi- 
tation through  my  diocese,  was  most  unicelcome  to  my  heart.  Every 
kind  word  of  those  who  had  spoken  against  the  truth  seemed  a  rebuke 
to  me.  every  warm  shake  of  the  hand  to  fall  like  ice  upon  my  soul. 
I  felt  that  I  had  shrunk  publicly  from  the  consequences  of  that  truth 
which  God  had  taught  me — felt  that  I  had  denied  that  blessed  Master 
who  had  graciously  revealed  Himself  to  me.  But  blessed  be  His  name 
for  that  grace  which  moved  me  to  'weep  bitterly.'  Persecution  for 
Christ's  sake  would  then  have  been  balm  to  my  wounded  conscience. 
And  nothing,  I  think,  but  the  precarious  state  of  one  whom  I  had 
vowed  to  'keep  in  sickness  as  well  as  health'  prevented  an  earlier 
avowal  of  my  disquietude  and  an  earlier  abandonment  of  my  diocese. 


134  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

"For  all  this  suffering,  bowever,  God  forbid  that  I  should  blame 
any  one  but  myself.  Others  may  have  acted  according  to  their  con- 
scientious convictions ;  I  resisted  mine,  and  on  grounds  that  would 
not  bear  the  test  of  calm  reflection,  and  how  much  less  the  light  of 
Eternity  !  I  ought  to  have  known  myself  better ;  ought  to  have  known 
the  way  of  God's  grace  and  truth  better. 

"And  now,  dear  brethren,  I  have  only  to  add,  take  warning  by  my 
sufferings ;  take  courage  by  my  blessings ;  take  example  from  Him 
'who  endureth  the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at  the 
right  hand  of  God.'  The  scenes  of  earth  will  soon  be  past,  and  we 
shall  then  feel  the  true  force  of  our  Lord's  words,  'He  that  forsaketh 
not  all  that  he  hath  cannot  be  my  disciple.' 

"I  have  loved  you  well ;  I  have  labored  for  j'ou  earnestly ;  and  now 
I  feel  it  to  be  a  privilege,  too  great  for  human  tongue  to  express,  to 
be  able  each  day  to  plead  in  your  behalf  the  sacrifice  of  a  present  God 
and  Savior ;  yea,  to  plead  that  He  may  ere  long,  through  the  riches  of 
His  own  mercy  and  the  power  of  His  condescending  love,  make  you 
partakers  of  the  new  and  unutterable  joy  which  I  now  feel,  when  I 
declare  before  God  that  'I  Believe  One  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church.'  " 

The  deatn  of  ex-Bishop  Ives  occurred  in  the  town  of  Man- 
hattanville,  New  York,  on  the  13th  day  of  October,  1867.  An 
obituary  notice  in  the  New  York  Herald,  re-printed  in  a  Raleigh 
paper,  the  Daily  Sentinel,  several  days  later  (October  18th), 
says  of  the  closing  years  of  his  life: 

"After  his  return  to  America  [from  the  city  of  Rome],  he  became 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  St.  Joseph  Theological  Seminary,  and  lec- 
tured in  the  convents  of  the  Sacred  Heart  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity. 
He  also  occasionally  lectured  in  public,  and  served  as  an  active  Presi- 
dent of  a  Conference  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul.  About  ten  years  ago  he 
conceived  the  idea  of  founding  a  home  in  this  city  for  vagrant  and 
orphan  children  of  Catholic  parentage ;  and,  having  obtained  the 
approval  of  Archbishop  Hughes,  set  energetically  to  work  to  cany 
out  his  design.  The  result  of  his  philanthropic  labors  was  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Catholic  Male  Protectorate  and  the  House  of  the  Holy 
Angels,  two  of  the  most  deserving  charitable  institutions  of  this  State. 
They  were  first  located  in  New  York,  but  were  afterwards  removed  to 
Westchester  County,  where  they  are  now  in  operation.  Both  were 
under  the  charge  and  direction  of  the  Society  for  the  Protection  of 
Destitute  Catholic  Children,  of  which  the  deceased  was  President 
from  its  incorporation  till  his  death.  Dr.  Ives  was  a  very  able  gentle- 
man and  eloquent  speaker,  and  his  death  will  be  much  lamented  by 
our  Catholic  community  and  by  the  public  in  general." 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  135 

About  the  year  1844,  the  Reverend  Aldert  Smedes,  D.D., 
Rector  of  Saint  Mary's  School  at  Raleigh,  engaged  William 
Hart  to  paint  a  full-length  portrait  of  Bishop  Ives.  This  por- 
trait (which  still  hangs  in  the  parlor  at  Saint  Mary's)  repre- 
sents him  in  the  act  of  administering  the  rite  of  confirmation 
to  a  class  of  four  girls.  Another  oil  portrait  of  Ives  is  in  the 
Catholic  Protectory  at  Westchester,  New  York.  A  very  hand- 
some engraving  of  the  Bishop,  as  he  appeared  in  his  younger 
days,  is  in  the  vestry  room  of  Christ  Church  at  Raleigh;  still 
another  engraved  likeness  (much  smaller)  was  made  after  he 
renounced  Anglicanism,  it  being  labeled  "Rt.  Rev.  L.  S.  Ives, 
Ex-Bishop  of  N.  Carolina."  The  picture  last  mentioned  is 
reproduced  iu  Bishop  Perry's  History  of  the  American  Episco- 
pal Church. 

One  of  the  sons  of  the  above-mentioned  Doctor  Smedes  was 
named  Ives  Smedes  in  honor  of  Bishop  Ives,  and  usually  was 
called  by  the  playful  sobriquet  of  "Bish,"  in  consequence  of 
being  the  namesake  of  a  Bishop.  He  was  Adjutant  of  the 
Seventh  North  Carolina  Regiment  in  the  Confederate  Army 
and  fell  mortally  wounded  at  the  Battle  of  Chancellorsville. 

Among  the  published  works  of  Bishop  Ives  were  the  follow- 
ing: Humility  a  Ministerial  Qualification  (a  commencement 
address,  June  28,  1840,  to  the  students  of  the  General  Theologi- 
cal Seminary),  22  pages,  New  York,  1840;  The  Introductory 
Address  of  the  Historical  Society  of  the  University  of  North 
Carolina  (delivered  in  the  chapel  of  the  University,  June  5, 
1844),  18  pages,  Raleigh,  1844;  The  Struggle  of  Sense  Against 
Faith  (sermon  delivered  October  2,  1844,  before  the  General 
Convention  in  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Philadelphia),  24  pages, 
Philadelphia,  1844;  The  Apostles'  Doctrine  and  Fellowship, 
190  pages,  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  1844;  The  Obedience 
of  Faith,  161  pages.  New  York,  1849 ;  The  Tiials  of  a  Mind 
in  its  Progress  to  Catholicism,  233  pages,  New  York,  Boston, 
Montreal  and  London,  1854.  In  addition  to  these  works,  and 
possibly  others.  Bishop  Ives  was  the  author  of  a  Catechism  and 


136  Bishops  of  J^oeth  CAitOLiNA. 

a  Manual  of  Devotion,  which  the  present  writer   (not  having 
seen)  cannot  describe  in  detail. 

The  remains  of  Ex-Bishop  Ives  are  interred  in  the  grounds 
of  the  Catholic  Protectory,  in  Westchester  County,  New  York, 
where  a  monument,  erected  to  the  memory  of  himself  and  his 
wife,  contains  the  following  inscription  on  the  face : 

Cineribus  et  Memorias 

LEVI  SILLIMAN  lYES, 

qui 

quae  circumspicis 

auctor  instituit 

f  autor  f  ovit 

gnaviter  prasses   primus   rexit 

vixit  an  LXXI. 

Obiit  XIII  Oct.  A.  D.  MDCCCLXVII. 


In  pace. 


Curatores  grat.  anim.  posuere. 


LEVI  SILLIMAN  IVES. 


The  other  inscriptions  are  in  English,  the  reverse  side  of  the 
monument  containing  these  words : 

Here  repose  the  remains  of 

L.  SILLIMAI:^  IVES, 

The  zealous  advocate  and 

first  President  of  the  Society 

for  the  Protection  of 

Destitute  Catholic  Children. 

In  obedience  to  his  dying  request 

his  body  is  interred  near  the  children 

to  whose  welfare  he  devoted  the 

last  hours  of  his  life. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  137 

His  many  sacrifices  in  his  Master's 

service  are  too  avcII  known  to  need 

a  special  record  here. 

May  lie  rest  in  peace. 

On  the  left  side  of  the  tomb  this  record  appears : 

LEVI  SILLIMAN  lYES,  LL.D., 

Born  in  Meriden,  Conn., 

September  16,  1797. 

Was  Bishop  of  the  Episcopal  Church 

in  Worth  Carolina  for  21  years. 

Was  received  into  the 

Holy  Roman  Catholic  Church 

in  the  City  of  Rome, 

in  the  year  1852. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Ives  occurred  a  littls  over  four  years  before 
that  of  her  husband,  and  on  his  monument  are  inscribed  the 
following  lines  in  memory  of  her : 

REBECCA  HOBART, 

beloved  wife  of 

LEVI  SILLIMAN  lYES. 

Born,  February  6,  1803. 

Died,  August  3,  1863. 

Was  received  into 

the  H.  R.  C.  Church 

in  the  City  of  Rome, 

in  the  year  1853. 

Judged  by  the  results  of  his  ministry,  Bishop  Ives  should 
always  be  remembered  with  kindness  by  members  of  the  Episco- 
pal Church.  His  labors  brought  hundreds  into  that  church; 
and,  when  he  left  it,  two  women  went  with  him — one  his  wife, 
and  the  other  a  temporary  convert  who  afterwards  came  back  to 
the  communion  she  had  left,  after  spending  a  while  with  the 
Baptists  on  the  way. 


138  Bishops  of  ^Nokth  Carolina. 

Ill  view  of  the  fact  that  it  was  not  intended  for  humor,  one 
of  the  most  amusing  passages  which  the  present  writer  has 
ever  seen  in  print  is  an  account  of  the  defection  of  Bishop  Ives 
in  a  Roman  Catholic  history  entitled  Catholicity  in  the  Caro- 
linas  and  Georgia,  by  the  Reverend  J,  J.  O'Connell,  O.S.B. 
That  work  gravely  states:  "The  return  of  Dr.  Ives  to  the 
Church  was  the  most  stunning  blow  that  Protestantism  ever 
received  in  America.  The  manly  step  unsettled  the  faith  of 
many,  if  they  had  any.  The  institution  never  recovered  from 
the  shock;  it  was  the  prophecy  of  its  dissolution.  When  a 
man  of  Dr.  Ives's  social  standing,  conceded  abilities,  blameless 
life  and  learning,  the  pride  of  the  aristocratic  Anglican  Church 
and  the  foremost  man  among  its  hierarchy,  laid  down  the  in- 
signia of  a  usurped  office  at  the  feet  of  the  successor  of  St, 
Peter,  a  blow  was  dealt  at  the  head  of  the  decaying  fabric  that 
felled  it  to  the  ground  like  the  idol  in  the  temple  of  the  Philis- 
tines." Overlooking  the  reference  to  the  Anglican  Church  as 
a  "decaying  fabric"  (as  such  language  is  hardly  worth  noticing) 
one  may  well  stand  appalled  at  "the  most  stunning  blow  that 
Protestantism  ever  received  in  America"  when  Bishop  Ives 
"unsettled  the  faith  of  many"  by  carrying  under  his  leadership 
to  the  Church  of  Rome  a  vast  multitude  consisting  of  his  wife 
and  Mrs.  Dickens,  the  latter  half  of  which  aforementioned 
multitude  afterwards  returned  to  the  Church  which  she  had 
left. 

Though  unable  to  make  the  Pope  an  offering  in  the  shape  of 
converts,  Bishop  Ives  seemed  determined  not  to  take  leave  of  the 
Vatican  without  depositing  therein  some  memorial  of  his  sub- 
mission to  papal  authority;  so  he  presented  to  the  Holy  Father 
en  episcopal  signet-ring  and  his  surplice.  These  relics  of  the 
former  Bishop  are  still  proudly  preserved  in  Rome,  to  keep  in 
remembrance  the  return,  to  the  true  fold,  of  a  wanderer  from 
the  flock  of  Saint  Peter. 

In  conclusion  we  may  say  that  out  of  the  defection  of  Bishop 
Ives  there  grew  indirectly  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  which 


Bishops  ok  JSToktii  Carolina.  139 

ever  came  to  the  Diocese  of  Xorth  Carolina — in  fact,  to  the 
whole  American  Church — for  to  his  vacated  chair  was  elected 
Thomas  Atkinson,  the  hest  beloved  Bishop  who  ever  presided 
over  the  Church  in  ISTorth  Carolina,  and  to  whom  the  Church 
throughout  the  nation  largely  owes  the  fact  that  it  was  not  rent 
in  twain  by  the  sectional  controversies  which  grew  out  of  the 
"War  between  the  States.  When  Bishop  Atkinson  had  reached 
the  age  of  sixty-five,  and  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina  had  so 
grown  under  his  wise  and  benign  leadership  as  to  require  the 
aid  of  an  Assistant  Bishop  in  carrying  on  his  good  work,  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Lyman  was  chosen  for  that  purpose  in  1873 ; 
and,  at  his  consecration,  a  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Right 
Reverend  Henry  Champlin  Lay,  Bishop  of  Easton,  who  (during 
the  course  of  his  remarks)  referred  to  Bishop  Ives  in  terms 
with  which  we  may  well  close  this  sketch:  "He  departed,  but 
without  a  following,  and  the  Diocese  rallied  from  the  blow; 
and,  to  its  honor,  gave  its  undiminished  confidence  to  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  deserted  chair.  None  has  a  word  or  thought  of 
bitterness  as  he  thinks  of  the  stranger  grave  where  now  repose 
the  relics  of  one  whom  North  Carolina  would  once  have  duti- 
fully enshrined — the  bones  of  the  man  of  God  still  honored  for 
many  a  'saying  which  he  cried  in  the  word  of  the  Lord,'  in  his 
best  days,  against  sin  and  folly.  We  respect  'the  trials  of  a 
mind,'  disordered,  we  know  not  how  much,  in  its  hidden  ma- 
chinery. We  forgive  the  attempted  injury,  and  his  good  we 
bury  not  with  his  bones." 


T 


Bishop  Atkinson. 


THOMAS     ATKINSON 
THIRD    BISHOP    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA 


THOMAS  ATKINSON, 

Third  Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 

The  family  of  Atkinson — itself  one  of  distinction,  and  con- 
nected by  blood  and  marriage  with  many  of  the  South's  best 
people  in  this  and  past  generations — had  its  origin  in  the  shire 
of  Cumberland  on  the  northern  border  of  England.  There  was 
born  Roger  Atkinson,  Avho  left  his  native  country  and  settled 
in  Virginia  about  the  year  1745.  In  1762,  when  Petersburg 
was  enlarged,  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  that  town. 
For  many  years  he  served  as  magistrate,  then  a  post  of  high 
honor  and  dignity.  He  also  filled  with  fidelity  and  zeal  the  posi- 
tion of  vestryman  of  Bristol  Parish  from  December  8,  1760, 
until  his  resignation  on  November  1,  1784.  It  is  an  interesting 
coincidence  that  he  was  elected  vestryman  to  succeed  Hugh 
Miller,  maternal  grand-father  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft.  The 
Atkinson  family's  principal  place  of  worship  was  Blandford 
Church,  at  Petersburg,  one  of  the  most  historic  religious  edifices 
in  the  Old  Dominion.  To  Roger  Atkinson  personally,  Bishop 
Meade  refers  as  "an  old  vestryman  and  staunch  friend  of  the 
Church."  Another  writer  tells  us  that  Roger  Atkinson  was  a 
member  of  the  first  Revolutionary  convention,  held  in  May, 
1769,  at  the  house  of  Anthony  Hay,  in  Williamsburg,  Vir- 
ginia; and,  a  year  later,  was  one  of  the  eighty-eight  patriotic 
gentlemen  who  signed  the  non-importation  agreement  at  the 
Raleigh  Tavern  in  that  town.  The  Atkinson  estate  was  called 
Mansfield,  and  it  was  located  in  the  county  of  Dinwiddie,  not 
far  from  Petersburg,  the  county-seat.  On  April  21,  1753,  Roger 
Atkinson  was  married  to  Anne  Pleasants  (a  lady  whose  parents 
were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends),  and  to  this  union 
were  born  six  children.  One  of  these,  Robert  Atkinson,  was 
born  on  the  23d  of  October,  1771,  and  married  Mary  Tabb 
Mayo,  a  member  of  one  of  Virginia's  old  colonial  families. 
He  was  the  father  of  eleven  children,  one  of  whom  was  the 


144  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

Right  Reverend  Thomas  Atkinson,  our  present  subject.  Allud- 
ing to  the  family  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  in  a  memorial  sermon 
delivered  shortly  after  his  death,  Bishop  Lay  said : 

"His  parents  were  Church  of  England  people :  they  lived  and  died 
in  our  comuiunion.  But  in  their  day  the  Church  was  at  its  lowest 
point  of  coldness  and  indifference.  There  were  some  able  and  earnest 
men  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  especially  Dr.  John  H.  Rice  and 
Dr.  Benjamin  H.  Rice,  who  labored  with  much  success  in  Southern 
Virginia  in  awakening  men  to  religious  earnestness.  The  Atkinsons, 
while  they  adhered  to  the  parish  church,  and  there  frequented  the 
Holy  Communion  three  times  a  year,  came  under  the  Influence  of 
these  ministers,  and  were  largely  guided  by  them  in  their  spiritual 
life.  Bishop  Atkinson  was  baptized  in  the  Episcopal  Church :  some 
of  the  children,  later  born,  received  baptism  at  the  hands  of  Presby- 
terian ministers,  and  thus  the  family  became  divided.  The  Bishop 
and  two  of  his  brothers  remained  in  the  Church  of  their  fathers : 
while  three  of  the  brothers,  of  whom  two  survive,  took  Presbyterian 
orders,  and  have  been  beloved  and  efficient  ministers  in  that  com- 
munion. The  sisters  are  divided  in  like  manner  in  their  ecclesiastical 
relations.  ...  It  could  not  but  be  a  pain  and  grief  to  all  mem- 
bers of  the  family  that,  in  anything  which  effected  their  religious  life, 
there  should  be  difference  of  opinion.  But  no  shadow  ever  came,  by 
reason  of  such  difference,  over  the  peace  and  happiness  of  their 
homes.  I  doubt  whether  in  all  the  land  could  be  found  a  large  family 
of  brothers  and  sisters  so  devoted  to  each  other,  so  delighting  in  each 
other's  company,  so  sympathizing  in  each  other's  joys  and  sorrows,  so 
ready  to  seek  fraternal  advice,  so  free  to  utter  all  their  minds  on  all 
subjects  at  each  other's  fireside,  kindly  and  courteously  but  without 
reserve." 

The  Presbyterian  clergymen,  to  whom  Bishop  Lay  refers  in 
the  above-quoted  extract  as  brothers  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  were 
the  Reverend  "William  Mayo  Atkinson,  the  Reverend  John 
Mayo  Pleasants  Atkinson  (President  of  Hampden-Sidney  Col- 
lege, who  commanded  a  detachment  of  his  students  in  the  Con- 
federate Army),  and  the  Reverend  Joseph  Mayo  Atkinson:  The 
last  named  gentleman  settled  in  jSTorth  Carolina  and  spenL  his 
closing  years  in  Raleigh,  where  he  was  greatly  beloved  and  ven- 
erated. Lucy  Fitzhugh  Atkinson,  sister  of  the  Bishop,  married 
the  Reverend  Chuchill  J.  Gibson,  D.D.,  and  was  mother  of  the 
Right  Reverend  Robert  Atkinson  Gibson,  Bishop  of  Virginia. 


Bishops  ok  North  Carolina.  145 

The  above-menfioned  Bishop  Lay  was  closely  connected  by 
marriage  with  Bishop  Atkinson,  having  married  his  niece, 
Elizabeth  Withers  Atkinson,  daughter  of  Roger  B.  Atkinson. 

For  a  genealogy'  of  the  Atkinson  family,  more  in  detail  than 
the  limits  of  the  present  sketch  will  allow,  we  refer  the  reader 
to  a  work  by  the  Reverend  Philip  Slaughter,  entitled  A  History 
of  Bristol  Parish. 

The  Right  Reverend  Thomas  Atkinson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 
{Cantah.),  third  Bishop  of  jSTorth  Carolina  and  fifty-eighth  in 
the  succession  of  the  American  Episcopate,  was  born  ou  his 
father's  estate,  Mansfield,  near  Petersburg,  in  Dinwiddle 
County,  Virginia,  on  the  6th  of  August,  1807.  After  due  prepa- 
ration in  local  schools  he  became  a  student  at  Yale.  While  at 
this  institution  a  number  of  his  college-mates,  indulging  in 
boyish  dissipation,  went  on  a  spree;  and,  becoming  boisterous, 
raised  some  disturbance,  though  no  mischief  of  a  serious  nature 
was  perpetrated.  Young  Atkinson  was  not  connected  with  this 
outbreak  in  any  way,  though  all  of  the  participants  therein 
were  known  to  him.  On  being  summoned  before  the  faculty, 
he  was  ordered  to  divulge  their  names,  and  this  he  respectfully 
but  firmly  refused  to  do,  saying  he  did  not  deem  it  consistent 
with  honor  to  act  the  part  of  a  spy  or  informer.  He  was  then 
given  his  choice  between  making  known  the  names  of  the  of- 
fenders or  leaving  college.  He  chose  the  latter  alternative — 
which,  it  may  be  added,  met  with  the  entire  approbation  of  his 
parents.  Late  in  life,  while  referring  to  the  matter.  Bishop 
Atkinson  said  he  had  never  seen  cause  to  regret  the  acrion  he 
took  on  that  occasion. 

After  leaving  Yale,  young  Atkinson  entered  Hampden-Sidney 
College,  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  and  graduated  therefrom  with 
the  honors  of  his  class,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  September  28, 
1825.  In  selecting  a  profession  he  made  choice  of  the  law,  and 
pursued  his  studies  under  Judge  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  of 
Winchester,  Virginia.  In  1828,  he  was  licensed  to  practice. 
He  remained  at  the  bar  eight  years,  and  then  decided  to  enter 


146  Bishops  of  ]^orth  Carolina. 

the  sacred  ministry.  At  Christ  Church,  in  the  city  of  ISTorfolk, 
on  i^ovember  18,  1836,  he  was  ordered  deacon  by  the  Right 
Reverend  William  Meade  (then  Assistant  Bishop),  and  was 
later  ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  the  Bight  Reverend  Richard 
Channing  Moore,  Bishop  of  Virginia,  in  Saint  Paul's  Church, 
I^orfolk,  May  7,  1837.  During  his  diaconate  he  was  Assistant 
Rector  of  Christ  Church  in  Norfolk;  and,  upon  his  elevation 
to  the  priesthood,  became  Rector  of  Saint  Paul's,  in  the  same 
city,  remaining  in  the  latter  station  nearly  two  years.  About 
the  end  of  the  year  1838  he  accepted  a  call  to  Lynchburg,  be- 
coming Rector  of  Saint  Paul's  Church  in  that  city,  and  re- 
mained there  until  1843.  During  the  year  last  named  he  be- 
came Rector  of  Saint  Peter's  Church,  in  Baltimore,  succeeding 
the  Reverend  John  Prentiss  Kewley  Henshaw,  who  had  resigned 
to  become  Bishop  of  Rhode  Island.  Scarcely  had  Mr.  Atkinson 
taken  up  his  new  charge  in  Baltimore  when  he  was  elected 
Bishop  of  Indiana.  This  high  office  he  declined,  and  remained 
in  his  Baltimore  pastorate,  daily  growing  in  the  love  and  esteem 
of  the  people  of  that  good  city,  and  adding  to  the  splendid  repu- 
tation he  had  already  acquired.  In  1846,  he  was  again  elected 
Bishop  of  Indiana,  and  again  he  declined.  The  reasons  for  the 
refusals  of  Doctor  Atkinson  to  accept  the  Bishopric  of  Indiana 
are  interestingly  given  by  Bishop  Cheshire  in  his  address  on 
"Bishop  Atkinson  and  the  Church  in  the  Confederacy,"  de- 
livered at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Comforter  (a  memorial  to  Bishop  Atkinson)  in  Charlotte, 
x^orth  Carolina,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Transfiguration,  August 
6,  1909.  The  first  refusal,  in  1843,  says  Bishop  Cheshire,  was 
a  simple  expression  of  his  unpreparedness,  he  having  come 
into  the  ministry  from  the  bar  only  six  years  before.  As  to  the 
renewed  call,  in  1846,  Bishop  Cheshire  continues: 

"This  second  election  seemed  to  carry  with  it  a  strong  presumption 
of  a  providential  call  to  that  work,  and  his  mind  was  adjusting  itself 
to  what  seemed  an  inevitable  duty,  when  he  received  a  letter  from  an 


Bishops  of  Xorth  Carolina.  147 

old  Lyu(.hl)ur{?  frieml,  who  for  some  years  had  beeu  living  in  Indiana. 
This  friend  had  left  Virginia  ht^ause  his  intense  dislike  of  slavery 
had  made  him  unwilling  any  longer  to  live  in  contact  with  it.  Bishop 
Atkinson  himself  had  a  strong  sense  of  the  disadvantages  and  evils 
of  slavery,  though  he  was  also  sensible  of  the  difficulty  of  finding  any 
just  and  practicable  means  of  abolishing  it  in  the  South.  He  had 
freed  all  his  own  slaves  who  wished  to  be  freed  and  to  go  to  the  free 
States,  and  had  kept  only  those  who  voluntarily  chose  to  remain  in 
the  South.  His  old  friend  wrote  expressing  the  pleasure  he  antici- 
pated in  seeing  him  Bishop  of  Indiana,  and  begged  him  to  bring  his 
family  to  his  house,  and  to  make  his  house  his  home  there  until  he 
should  have  leisure  to  make  his  permanent  arrangements.  He  then 
added  that  the  Bishop  umst  be  prepared  to  live  and  work  in  a  com- 
munity where  the  feeling  against  slavery  and  slave  owners  was  be- 
coming so  inflamed  and  bitter,  that  the  writer  of  the  letter  as  a 
Southern  man,  though  opposed  to  slavery,  found  himself  in  a  painful 
and  embarrassing  position.  , 

"This  letter  caused  him  to  decline  for  a  second  time  the  call  to 
Indiana.  Little  as  he  was  attached  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  and 
thankful  as  he  could  have  been  to  see  it  justly  and  peacefully  abol- 
ished, he  felt  quite  sure  that,  if  in  Indiana  his  friend  could  not  live 
in  comfort  on  account  of  the  state  of  public  feeling,  he  could  not  hope 
to  be  happy  and  contented  in  his  work,  since  he  would  probably,  as 
time  went  on,  find  himself  more  and  more  out  of  sympathy  with  his 
people  on  the  great  and  absorbing  question  of  the  day. 

"In  the  year  1853  the  Diocese  of  South  Carolina  was  to  elect  a 
Bishop.  There  was  a  strong  feeling  in  favor  of  electing  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Atkinson.  But  rumors  had  reached  that  State  as  to  his  feeling  about 
slavery,  and  prominent  persons  in  that  Diocese  communicated  with 
him,  asking  for  an  expression  of  his  views  on  the  subject.  He  replied 
promptly  in  effect  that  he  felt  slavery  to  be  a  disadvantage,  though 
he  could  not  see  how  to  get  rid  of  it.  But  ho  declared  that  if  it  came 
to  a  choice  between  slavery  and  the  Union,  he  should  say  let  slavery 
go,  and  preserve  the  Union  of  the  States.  That  is,  as  I  remember, 
the  substance  of  his  reply.  This  letter,  he  said,  prevented  his  being 
elected  Bishop  of  South  Carolina ;  and  Bishop  Davis  was  chosen.  My 
old  friend  General  Thomas  F.  Drayton,  told  me  that  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  South  Carolina  Diocesan  Convention  of  ISoo,  and  well 
remembered  the  letter  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  which  was  made  known  to 
the  members  of  the  Convention,  he  himself  having  seen  and  read  it; 
and  he  said  but  for  that  letter  Bishop  Atkinson  would  certainly  have 
been  their  choice  for  Bishop." 


148  Bishops  of  North  Carolina, 

So,  as  Bishop  Atkinson  afterwards  remarked,  he  did  not 
become  Bishop  of  Indiana  because  he  was  not  sufficiently  op- 
posed to  slavery;  and  failed  of  election  as  Bishop  of  South 
Carolina  because  he  was  not  sufficiently  in  favor  of  it. 

In  the  year  1850,  a  controversy  had  arisen  between  some  of 
the  clergy  in  Maryland  and  their  Bishop,  the  Eight  Reverend 
William  Rollinson  "Whittingham,  as  to  whether  a  Bishop,  when 
making  his  visitation  to  a  church,  had  the  right  to  administer 
the  Holy  Communion  and  perform  some  other  acts  usually 
devolving  upon  the  parish  priest.  In  this  absurd  contention 
by  the  clergy,  some  went  so  far  as  to  maintain  that  a  proper 
respect  for  the  just  influence  of  the  office  of  presbyter  actually 
forbade  that  the  communion  office  should  be  turned  over  to  the 
Bishop.  The  pulpit  and  desk,  however,  they  conceded  might 
properly  be  at  the  Bishop's  disposal  through  the  courtesy  of 
the  priest  in  charge.  "This  controversy,"  says  Bishop  Lay, 
"was  the  burning  question  at  the  General  Convention  of  1850; 
and  at  that  Convention,  and  in  the  preceding  Diocesan  Con- 
vention of  Maryland,  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  Dr.  Atkinson,  then 
Eector  of  St.  Peter's,  to  vindicate  the  true  ideal  of  the  office 
of  Bishop."  Commenting  upon  the  triumph  of  the  Bishop  of 
Maryland's  contention,  Bishop  Lay  adds  in  the  above  quoted 
discourse  (his  memorial  sermon  on  Bishop  Atkinson)  that,  if 
"Whittingham  and  Atkinson  had  no  other  claim  upon  the 
Church's  gratitude  they  would  deserve  to  be  ever  held  in  honor 
for  averting  so  great  a  calamity  as  that  of  the  degradation  of 
the  Episcopate. 

Shortly  after  the  year  1850,  some  of  Doctor  Atkinson's  parish- 
oners  in  Saint  Peter's  Church,  Baltimore,  in  conjunction  with 
a  number  of  their  fellow-churchmen  outside  of  that  parish, 
decided  to  build  an  additional  house  of  worship  and  invite  him 
to  become  its  Rector.  The  erection  of  Grace  Church,  on  the 
corner  of  Monument  street  and  Park  avenue,  was  the  result, 
and  in  this  beautiful  edifice  Doctor  Atkinson  was  officiating 
when  called  to  the  Bishopric  of  JSTorth  Carolina  in  1853. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  149 

Soino  years  prior  to  his  election  to  the  Bishopric  of  North 
Carolina,  Doctor  Atkinson  married  (in  January,  1828)  Josepha 
Gwinn  Wilder,  daughter  of  John  Wilder,  of  Petersburg,  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  survived  by  this  lady,  and  also  by  all  of  his 
children — three  in  number — as  follows  : 

I.  Mary  Mayo  Atkinson,  wife  of  the  Reverend  D.  Hillhouse 
Buel,  D.D.,  a  clergyman  who  faithfully  labored  many  years  in 
and  around  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  in  the  interests  of  edu- 
cation as  well  as  religion. 

II.  John  Wilder  Atkinson,  of  Wilmington,  North  Caro- 
lina, a  Colonel  in  the  Confederate  Army,  who  fought  through 
the  war  and  was  at  one  time  confined  in  the  military  prison  on 
Johnson's  Island,  in  Lake  Erie;  he  has  been  three  times  mar- 
ried and  has  descendants. 

III.  Robert  Atkinson,  M.D.,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  who 
retired  in  early  manhood  from  the  practice  of  medicine,  and 
afterwards  conducted  a  school  for  boys ;  he  has  been  twice  mar- 
ried, and  one  of  his  children  is  the  Reverend  Thomas  Atkinson, 
at  present  a  clergyman  in  the  Diocese  of  Maryland. 

In  May,  1853,  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  North  Carolina 
met  in  Christ  Church  at  Raleigh ;  and  before  this  body  was  laid 
the  letter  of  December  22, 1852,  whereby  Bishop  Ives  made  knovsm 
his  intention  of  renouncing  the  communion  of  his  Church  and  of 
becoming  a  Roman  Catholic.  While  his  letter  did  not  accord  with 
the  formalities  governing  the  resignation  of  Bishops,  the  Dio- 
cesan Convention  resolved  that  his  abandonment  of  the  flock  com- 
mitted to  his  care  and  renunciation  of  the  Anglican  communion, 
were  circumstances  which  in  themselves  worked  a  deposition 
from  the  ministry,  and  that  the  Bishopric  was  therefore  vacant. 
Accordingly  the  convention  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  suc- 
cessor in  the  Episcopate,  on  May  28,  1853.  The  total  number 
of  votes  cast  was  twenty-seven — eighteen,  or  two-thirds,  being 
necessary  for  a  choice.  Those  cast  on  the  last  ballot  for  the 
Reverend  Thomas  Atkinson,  D.D.,   were  tv/enty.     The  votes 


150  Bishops  of  ISTokth  Carolina. 

for  the  Reverend  Ricliard  Sharpe  Mason,  D.D.,  were  three; 
those  cast  for  the  Right  Reverend  Horatio  Southgate,  D.D.,* 
two;  and  two  votes  were  blank.  The  Reverend  Doctor  Atkin- 
son, having  thus  received  the  constitutional  number  of  votes, 
was  declared  elected  by  the  clergy,  said  election  being  unani- 
mously concurred  in  by  the  lay  delegates.  In  referring  to  the 
earlier  ballots,  before  an  election  resulted,  the  Semi-WeeJcly 
Raleigh  Register,  of  June  1,  1853,  said:  ''The  clergy  divided, 
almost  equally,  between  the  Rev.  Drs.  Mason  and  Drane,  the 
distinguished  Rectors  of  Christ  Church,  Raleigh,  and  St.  James' 
Church,  "Wilmington.  More  than  thirty  ballotings  were  had 
among  the  clergy  before  two-thirds  of  their  number  (the  consti- 
tutional vote)  united  upon  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  Atkinson,  of 
Baltimore.  Drs.  Hawks  and  Southgate  also  received  a  respect- 
able vote." 

Upon  being  advised  of  his  election.  Doctor  Atkinson  accepted 
the  call.  He  said  that,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the 
case,  he  felt  it  to  be  the  will  of  God  that  he  should  now  accept 
the  high  position  which  he  had  theretofore  declined,  though  it 
involved  separation  from  a  happy  home  and  many  dear  friends 
in  Baltimore.  He  attended  the  General  Convention  of  the 
Church  in  the  city  of  IsTew  York,  October,  1853,  as  a  clerical 
deputy  from  the  Diocese  of  Maryland,  while  at  the  same  time 
his  name  was  presented  to  the  Convention  for  its  consent  to  his 
consecration  as  Bishop  of  North  Carolina.  Action  to  this  eifect 
was  postponed  until  Bishop  Ives  could  be  formally  deposed, 
after  which  the  consecration  of  the  new  Bishop  took  place  in  due 
form,  October  17,  1853,  in  Saint  John's  Chapel.  As  much- 
honored  guests  at  the  General  Convention  of  1853  were  tAvo  colo- 
nial dignitaries  of  the  Mother  Church  of  England,  the  Right 
Reverend  George  Trevor  Spencer,  D.  D.,  former  Bishop  of  Mad- 
ras, in  India,  and  the  Right  Reverend  George  Medley,  D.  D., 

*  Though  then  officiating  as  Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  in 
Boston,  Doctor  Southgate  had  formerly  been  Bishop  over  the  Ameri- 
can missions  in  Turkey. 


Bishops  of  Noktu  Caromxa.  151 

Bishop  of  Fredrictuu,  in  Ciiuuda,  both  ol'  whom  joined  in  the 
ceremony  of  the  laying  on  of  hands  when  Doctor  Atkinson  was 
consecrated  Bishop,  the  American  consccrators  being  the  Right 
Reverend  Thomas  Church  Brownell,  D.  T).,  LL.  I).,  Bishop  of 
Connecticut  and  Presiding  Bishop ;  the  Right  Reverend  Charles 
Pettit  Mcllvaine,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Ohio;  the  Right  Reverend 
George  Yfashington  Doane,  D.  J).,  LL.  D.,  Bishop  of  I^ew  Jer- 
sey; the  Right  Reverend  Samuel  Allen  McCoskry,  D.  D.,  D.  C. 
L.,  Bishop  of  Michigan ;  and  the  Right  Reverend  James  Hervey 
Otey,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Tennessee.  Another  Bishop  who  received 
his  consecration  dui'ing  the  session  of  the  General  Convention  of 
1853,  at  the  hands  of  both  the  American  and  English  Bishops — 
though  the  personnel  of  his  American  consccrators  slightly  dif- 
fered from  Atkinson's — was  the  Right  Reverend  Thomas  Fred- 
erick Davis,  of  South  Carolina,  who  was  a  native  of  Wilming- 
ton, JSTorth  Carolina,  and  a  brother  of  the  eminent  lawyer,  Ilon- 
orable  Geo:-ge  Davis,  afterwards  Attorney-General  of  the  Con- 
federate States.  A  few  months  after  the  consecration  of  Bishops 
.Itkinson  and  Davis,  still  another  native  N'orth  Carolinian  was 
added  to  the  House  of  Bishops  when  the  Reverend  Thomas 
Fielding  Scott  was  consecrated  Missionary  Bishop  of  the  terri- 
tories of  Washington  and  Oregon,  on  January  8,  1854.  Bishop 
Scott's  ministerial  career  began  in  Georgia,  but  he  was  born  in 
Iredell  County,  IN'orth  Carolina,  March  12,  1807.  He  died  in 
■STew  York  City  on  the  14th  day  of  July,  1867. 

After  spending  a  short  time  in  bidding  farewell  to  his  parish- 
ioners and  other  friends  in  Baltimore,  Bishop  Atkinson  set  out 
for  ISTorth  Carolina  and  arrived  at  Raleigh  on  Tuesday,  the  8th 
of  ISTovember,  1853.  He  preached  his  first  sermon  in  that  city 
at  Christ  Church  on  the  following  Sunday.  On  the  evening  of 
the  same  day  he  delivered  a  sermon  in  the  chapel  of  Saint  Mary's 
School,  and  confirmed  twelve  of  its  pupils.  After  laboring  for 
something  more  than  a  month  in  North  Carolina,  Bishop  Atkin- 
son returned  to  Baltimore  in  December,  and  brought  his  family 
to  their  new  home.    In  the  following  month  (January,  1854)  he 


152  Bishops  of  I^okth  Carolina. 

also  visited  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  Richmond, 
holding  services  oy  invitation  in  each  of  these  cities. 

In  May,  1854,  while  travelling  in  eastern  ^STorth  Carolina, 
Bishop  Atkinson  paid  a  visit  to  the  ruins  of  Saint  Thomas's 
Church  at  Bath,  the  oldest  house  of  worship  in  the  State.  Of  it 
he  wrote :  "The  Church  at  Bath  is  venerable  from  age  and  asso- 
ciation, hut  has  become  so  dilapidated  as  to  approach  ruin. 
The  village,  once  the  capital  of  the  State,  and  possessed  of  com- 
parative population  and  wealth,  is  now  nearly  stripped  of  both, 
and  it  will  therefore  be  a  serious  effort  on  the  part  of  the  present 
residents  to  put  the  Church  in  good  repair;  but  it  is  one  they 
design  to  make,  and  in  which  they  ought  to  be  assisted  by  others, 
and  especially  by  those  who,  though  no  longer  residents,  are  con- 
nected with  this  interesting  spot  as  their  former  home  or  that  of 
their  forefathers."  It  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  this 
ancient  edifice  is  now  in  regular  use,  but  it  was  not  restored 
until  some  years  later.  The  walls,  being  made  of  hard  brick, 
withstood  the  elements  during  the  long  years  of  neglect  through 
which  it  passed. 

In  the  year  above  mentioned,  during  Bishop  Atkinson's  visit 
to  Bath,  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  the  same  section  of  the  State,  he 
was  accompanied  by  the  Reverend  Edwin  Geer,  Rector  of  Saint 
Peter's  Church  at  Washington,  in  Beaufort  County.  Alluding 
to  May  30th,  the  Bishop  says:  "That  evening  I  parted  from 
Mr.  Geer,  whose  pleasant  society  as  well  as  useful  services  I  had 
enjoyed  for  a  week.  He  returned  to  "Washington.  I  crossed  the 
Pamlico  River  to  Mr.  Charles  Crawford's,  where,  among  others, 
I  met  with  his  aged  mother,  a  venerable  relict  of  a  past  era  and  a 
type  of  that  class  of  women  to  whom  the  Church  in  this  Diocese, 
in  that  of  Virginia,  and  of  Maryland,  and  no  doubt  in  many 
others,  is  so  much  indebted — who,  without  the  ordinary  public 
means  of  grace,  and  amid  deep  discouragements,  hav^e  kept  the 
faith  and  caref'illy  trained  up  their  children  in  it  On  May 
31st,  at  Mr.  Crawford's,  I  baptized  nine  children—  two  white  and 
seven  colored." 


Bishops  of  I^okth  Cakolina.  153 

It  was  the  privilege  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  on  Septeraher  19, 
1S54,  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Moravian  community  at  Salem.  He 
alluded  to  this  town  and  its  people  in  his  next  address  to  the 
Diocesan  Convention,  saying:  "This  is  a  very  interesting  place, 
because  of  the  Moravian  colony  established  there — a  body  of 
people  with  whom,  as  Protestants  and  at  the  same  time  Episco- 
palians, we  have  an  especial  affinity.  Their  large  and  flourish- 
ing schools  have  been  to  a  considerable  extent  patronized  by  the 
members  of  our  Church,  and  our  kind  feeling  towards  them 
seems  to  be  cordially  reciprocated.  Withal,  the  flourishing  vil- 
lage of  Winston  is  growing  up  by  the  side  of  Salem,  and  the 
population  of  the  surrounding  country  is  increasing."  About  a 
year  later,  September  9,  1855,  Bishop  Atkinson  again  visited  the 
Moravians,  and  was  once  more  received  with  loving  hospitality. 
On  the  latter  occasion  he  preached  in  their  church.  Later  he 
expressed  great  admiration  for  their  educational  system.  Speak- 
ing of  the  Salem  Academy  (the  oldest  school  for  girls  in  North 
Carolina)  he  said :  "It  was  to  me  also  very  pleasing  and  encour- 
aging to  observe  the  flourishing  condition  of  the  School  in  which 
so  many  of  the  daughters  of  !Morth  Carolina,  and  of  the  other 
Southern  States,  have  received  important  aid  in  fitting  them- 
selves for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  life."  And  still  another 
visit  to  Salem,  September  1,  1858,  was  recorded  by  Bishop 
Atkinson  as  follows :  "I  preached  in  the  Moravian  Church  at 
Salem,  and  baptized  two  infants.  I  was  received  by  that  inter- 
esting community  with  the  kindness  they  have  ever  shown,  not 
to  me  only,  but  to  all  the  ministers  of  our  Church  who  have 
visited  them ;  and  I  was  gratified  to  learn  that  some  of  them  are 
among  the  largest  contributors  to  the  fund  now  being  collected 
for  the  purpose  of  building  a  house  of  worship  for  our  own  com- 
munion in  or  near  their  village." 

In  March,  1854,  Bishop  Atkinson  included  Saint  John's 
Church,  at  Williamsborough,  in  his  visitations,  and  of  it  he  said: 
"The  venerable  Church,  in  which  the  solemn  eloquence  of 
Ravenscroft  had  so  often  awed  the  hearts  of  multitudes,  exhib- 


154  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

ited  (when  I  first  saw  it)  marks  of  dilapidation  and  decay. 
'Now,  not  only  has  it  been  repaired  and  painted,  but  a  parsonage 
has  also  been  purchased." 

Bishop  Atkinson  and  his  family  left  Raleigh  and  became  resi- 
dents of  "Wilmington  in  December,  1855,  some  Churchmen  in  the 
latter  place  having  procured  for  their  use  a  handsome  home, 
besides  showing  many  other  acts  of  consideration  and  kindness. 
In  1854  the  Diocesan  Convention  had  taken  steps  looking  to  the 
erection  of  a  See  House  at  Raleigh,  but  this  plan  was  later  aban- 
doned in  consequence  of  the  Bishop's  removal. 

ISTot  long  after  Bishop  Atkinson  had  reached  his  new  home  in 
Wilmington  he  was  called  back  to  Raleigh  by  news  of  the  sud- 
den death  of  his  greatly  beloved  friend,  Joseph  B.  G.  Roulhac — 
a  gentleman  of  Erench  descent — of  whom  he  says:  "ISTever 
within  my  acquaintance  has  the  death  of  a  private  citizen  been 
more  universally  regretted  than  his.  And  well  did  he  deserve 
the  high  place  he  occupied  in  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the 
community.  His  flowing  courtesy  and  delicate  respect  for  the 
opinions  and  feelings  of  others,  continually  reminded  those  who 
knew  him  of  the  best  qualities  of  the  race  from  which  he  sprung, 
and  which  his  name  indicated,  yet  the  bluntest  of  men  could  not 
have  been  more  sincere,  upright,  and  honorable  than  he  was." 
Another  death,  occurring  a  few  years  after  Mr.  Roulhac's,  was 
that  of  the  Reverend  John  Haywood  Parker,  Rector  of  Saint 
Luke's  Church  in  Salisbury,  who  passed  to  his  reward  on  the 
15th  of  September,  1858.  This  also  v/as  a  source  of  deep  grief 
to  Bishop  Atkinson,  who  (in  addressing  the  Convention  of 
1859)  feelingly  referred  to  the  loss  thus  sustained,  and  said  of 
Mr.  Parker  personally:  "He  was  peculiarly  qualified  to  be  use- 
ful as  a  minister,  not  only  by  piety  and  intelligence,  but  by 
warm  and  tender  affections,  by  great  suavity  and  cordiality  of 
manner,  and  by  a  rare  combination  of  zeal  and  discretion.  It 
was  said  by  one  who  well  knew  the  town  in  which  he  lived,  that 
his  loss  would  be  more  deeply  felt  than  that  of  any  other  man 
who  could  be  taken  from  it." 


Bishops  of  North  (Jakomna.  155 

For  several  years  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  War  Between 
the  States  a  movement  had  been  on  foot  looking  to  the  establish- 
ment in  some  Soiithern  diocese  of  a  university  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Church.  The  first  steps,  with  this  end  in  view,  were 
taken  by  Bishop  Polk,  who,  on  July  1,  1856,  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  other  Southern  Bishops,  setting  forth  the  need  of  such  an 
institution,  not  only  as  a  training  school  for  the  ministry,  but 
for  the  general  education  of  young  men.  Bishop  Atkinson 
attended  a  meeting  at  Montgomery,  Alabama,  in  November, 
1858,  which  decided  that  this  institution — now  knowTi  as  the 
University  of  the  South — should  be  established  at  Sewanee,  in 
the  mountains  of  Tennessee.  The  corner-stone  of  the  first  build- 
ing of  this  institution  was  laid  in  1860;  but,  shortly  after  this, 
the  war  swept  away  nearly  all  of  its  assets,  amounting  to  about 
half  a  million  dollars.  Work  was  begun  there  anew,  after  the 
Avar,  by  Bishop  Quintard  of  Tennessee;  and,  after  passing 
through  many  trying  vicissitudes,  it  is  now  one  of  the  best 
institutions  of  its  kind  in  America.  The  University  of  the  South 
is  the  joint  property  of  the  several  dioceses  throughout  the 
States  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and 
Texas. 

At  a  date  somewhat  earlier  I  ban  that  at  which  Bishop  Polk 
conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  the  University  of  the  South, 
steps  had  been  taken  in  North  Carolina  to  found  an  educational 
institution  as  a  memorial  to  Bishop  Ravenscroft.  In  1854,  the 
Diocesan  Convention  of  North  Carolina — not  deterred  by  the 
failure  of  the  Episcopal  School  at  Raleigh  fifteen  years  earlier — 
resolved  to  establish  a  Church  school  for  boys.  At  the  same  time, 
for  its  government,  it  was  provided  that  this  institution  should 
be  under  the  management  of  a  board  of  trustees,  consisting  of  the 
Bishop,  ex  ojficio,  and  three  laymen  to  be  appointed  by  him.  To 
serve  on  this  board.  Bishop  Atkinson  selected  Messrs.  Henry  A. 
London,  of  Pittsboro,  in  Chatham  County,  Thomas  Hill,  of  the 
same  place,  and  George  W.  Mordecai,  of  Raleigh.    It  was  deter- 


156  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

mined  by  these  geiitlemen  to  locate  the  school  at  Pittsboro,  as  a 
spacious  lot  and  about  two  thousand  dollars  had  been  offered  to. 
the  trustees  as  an  inducement  to  do  so.  The  Keverend  Jarvis 
Buxton,  of  Asheville,  was  elected  principal,  though  the  Bishop 
felt  very  reluctant  to  have  him  removed  from  a  section  where  he 
was  so  greatly  beloved  and  was  meeting  with  such  marked  suc- 
cess in  his  sacred  calling.  Doctor  Buxton  at  first  accepted  the 
principalship,  but,  before  he  could  assume  the  duties  of  his  new 
post,  his  parishioners  at  Asheville  offered  to  establish  a  school  in 
that  town  if  he  would  remain.  This  he  consented  to  do,  first  con- 
sulting the  Bishop  and  securing  his  approbation  of  such  a 
course.  It  was  at  first  intended  (after  Doctor  Buxton  decided 
to  remain  in  Asheville)  to  have  schools  in  both  Pittsboro  and 
Asheville,  but  the  former  plan  was  finally  given  up.  The  insti- 
tution at  Asheville — Eavenscroft  School — was  opened  in  1856. 
The  Reverend  Lucian  Holmes  succeeded  Doctor  Buxton  as  its 
head-master,  in  1861,  and  served  until  the  doors  of  the  school 
were  closed  in  1864.  An  account  of  this  institution,  written  by 
Doctor  Buxton  himself,  is  given  in  the  volume  of  centennial 
addresses  entitled  Church  History  in  North  Carolina,  published 
in  1892.  In  that  work,  Doctor  Buxton  says:  "At  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War  and  on  the  restoration  of  peace,  the  Ravenscroft 
Institute  was  re-organized  by  Bishop  Atkinson  solely  into  a 
theological  school — that  is,  a  school  where  postulants  and  candi- 
dates only  for  the  holy  ministry  were  received  and  instructed." 
The  Reverend  George  T.  Wilmer  was  the  first  principal  of 
Ravenscroft  School  after  its  re-organization,  in  1868,  but  soon 
resigned  to  accept  a  professorship  in  "William  and  Mary  College. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend  Francis  J.  Murdoch,  who 
later  gave  place  to  the  Reverend  D.  Hillhouse  Buel  in  the  Fall  of 
1872.  Says  Doctor  Buxton,  in  the  above-quoted  account:  "In 
1886  it  was  decided  by  the  Convention  to  revive  the  plan  of  a 
diocesan  school  for  boys  (the  proposed  one,  to  be  located  at  Mor- 
ganton,  having  miscarried)  and  to  fit  up  and  use  for  that  pur- 
pose the  Ravenscroft  building.    The  erection  of  a  separate  build- 


BisHors  OF  N^oRTir  Carolina.  157 

iug,  for  the  training  school  for  the  iniiiistry,  was  postponed  to  a 
future  day."  After  the  above  institution  became  a  high  school 
for  boys,  its  head-masters  were  successively  Messrs.  Henry  A. 
Prince,  Haywood  Pai'kor,  and  Ronald  McDonald.  The  gentle- 
man last  named  undertook  (with  the  approval  of  ihe  Diocesan 
Convention)  to  run  the  school  as  a  private  educational  enter- 
prise; but,  not  meeting  with  patronage  sufficient  to  justify  its 
continuance,  he  finally  gave  up  the  undertaking.  In  1887,  Mr. 
John  H.  Shoenberger,  of  JSTew  York  (formerly  of  Pennsylva- 
nia), gave  the  school  a  building  costing  over  eight  thousand  dol- 
lars. Ravenscrof t  School  is  not  in  operation  at  present ;  but,  as 
its  grounds  and  buildings  are  still  owned  by  the  Church,  it  may 
be  revived  at  some  future  day.  It- is  not  now  in  the  Diocese  of 
I'^orth  Carolina,  but  in  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  Asheville. 
In  the  period  preceding  the  War  Between  the  States,  Bishop 
Atkinson  had  faithfully  carried  out  the  policy  of  his  Church  in 
extending  spiritual  enlightenment  among  the  negroes ;  and,  like 
his  predecessors,  had  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  most  exten- 
sive slave-holders  of  his  Diocese  in  this  good  work.  In  his 
address  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1854,  speaking  of  the 
plantation  of  Henry  K.  Burgwyn,  on  the  Roanoke  River,  he 
said:  "At  a  little  chapel  on  his  estate,  after  evening  prayer,  I 
preached  to  his  sla^'cs,  who  attended  very  numerously  and  with 
a  gratifying  appearance  of  interest  and  devotion.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Fitz  Gerald,  who  lives  at  Mr.  Burgwyn's,  gives  much  of  his  time 
and  labor  to  this  important  and  often  neglected  part  of  our 
population;  and,  with  the  efficient  aid  he  receives  from  Mr. 
Morell,  now  a  candidate  for  Orders,  who  resides  as  a  tutor  in  the 
family,  and  from  the  excellent  mistress  of  the  household,  the 
good  work  seems  to  make  gratifying  progress."  That  Mr. 
Josiah  Collins  faithfully  kept  up  the  religious  work  on  liis 
plantation,  heretofore  alluded  to,  appears  in  the  same  journal. 
After  speaking  of  the  incessant  labors  of  Mr.  Collins  in  person- 
ally instructing  his  negroes,  the  Bishop  says:  "Such  cares  and 
labors  for  their  souls'  good,  accomplished,  as  in  his  case,  by  cor- 


158  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

respondent  solicit  ude  for  their  temporal  welfare,  seems  to  me 
the  best  answer  to  those  who  revile  the  entire  population  of  the 
South,  and  who  know  so  well  how  to  do  that  which  Burke  felt  to 
be  so  far  beyond  his  powers — to  draw  up  an  indictment  against 
a  whole  people.  Perhaps  the  philanthropy,  which  thus  rails  and 
is  puffed  up,  may  be  less  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  than  that 
obscure  benevolence  which  only  works  and  makes  sacrifices," 
To  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1856,  Bishop  Atkinson  reported : 
"I  appointed  Mr.  William  Murphy  some  months  ago  to  officiate 
here  [at  Wilson,]  together  with  Rocky  Mount,  taking  charge  at 
the  same  time  of  the  religious  instruction  of  the  slaves  of  Mr. 
Turner  Battle  and  his  sisters.  He  has  recently,  Avith  my  con- 
sent, agreed  to  serve  also  once  a  month,  a  new  congregation  at 
Marlborough,  in  Pitt  County.  ...  I  preached  in  Rocky 
Mount  in  the  afternoon,  and  administered  the  Communion ;  and, 
in  the  evening,  preached  to  the  slaves  of  Mr.  Battle  and  his  sis- 
ters. As  an  encouraging  indication  of  increasing  interest  in  the 
religious  instruction  of  slaves,  I  will  mention  that  two  ministers, 
in  this  quarter  of  the  Diocese,  have,  in  the  last  few  months,  been 
employed  by  masiers  to  aid  them  in  this  part  of  their  duty — Mr. 
Murphy  by  the  Battle  family,  and  Mr.  Gallagher  by  Mr.  T.  P. 
Devereux.  Witli  Mr.  Devereux,  indeed,  the  subject  has  long 
been  one  of  deep  interest  and  practical  effort."  The  Devereux 
family,  of  Avhich  the  above-mentioned  Thomas  Pollock  Devereux 
was  head,  owned  eight  large  plantations  and  about  sixteen  hun- 
dred negroes.  An  interesting  account  of  the  workings  of  these 
vast  estates  has  been  preserved  in  a  volume  (published  in  1906) 
entitled  Plantation  Sketches,  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Devereux,  of 
Raleigh.  Even  while  the  War  Between  the  States  was  at  its 
height,  the  religious  instruction  of  the  negroes  was  not  neg- 
lected. In  one  of  his  addresses  the  Bishop  speaks  of  a  visitation 
to  Christ  Church  in  Raleigh,  where,  on  the  night  of  May  11, 
1862,  he  "preached  to  a  crowded  and  very  attentive  congrega- 
tion of  colored  people."  Later  in  the  war-time,  October  13, 1863, 
the  Bishop  made  a  brief  stay  at  the  plantation  of  Mr.  Peter  W. 


Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina.  1;">0 

Htiirston,  in  Davie  County,  and  says  of  this  visil  :   ''I  preached 
tw'ice  to  a  large  body  of  his  slaves,  some  of  his  family  and  a  few 
of  his  neighboi's  being  present,  and  administered  the  Holy  Com- 
munion.    The  care  bestowed  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hairston  on  the 
religious  instruction  of  their  slaves  is  much  to  be  commended." 
The  Mr.  Hairston,  here  mentioned,  OAvned  about  two  thousand 
slaves — few  men  in  the  entire  South  having  so  great  a  number. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  North  Caro- 
lina, after  the  beginning  of  the  war,  was  to  have  been  held  at 
New  Bern;  but,  as  hostilities  had  opened  in  that  neighborhood, 
and  many  male  members  of  the  local  congregation  Avere  already 
absent  in  the  military  service  of  the  Confederacy,  Bishop  Atkin- 
son changed  the  place  of  meeting  to  Morganton,  and  it  accord- 
ingly assembled  in  the  latter  town,  July  10th-12th,  1861.    In  his 
annual  address,  the  Bishop  discussed  at  some  length  the  political 
situation,  averring  that  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States  did 
not,  in  itself,  work  a  dissolution  of  the  relations  existing  between 
the  dioceses  forming  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States.    Should  the  dioceses  in  the  seceded  States  form  a 
union,  however  (as  they  later  did),  he  intimated  that  the  Dio- 
cese of  North  Carolina  should  join  with  them,  and  thus  separate 
from  the  Church  in  the  northern  dioceses.     Concerning  some 
alterations  he  had  authorized  in  forms  of  worship,  he  said  that 
he  had  added  a  prayer  for  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States 
and  the  soldiers  gone  forth  to  war,  as  well  as  substituting  prayers 
for  the  civil  rulers  of  the  Confederacy,  its  Congress,  etc.,  in  the 
place  of  such  civil  officers  of  the  United  States,  as  the  latter  had 
ceased  to  hold  authority  over  the  territory  in  which  the  Diocese 
of  North  Carolina  Avas  situated.     He  also  said:    "The  State  is 
always  entitled  to  our  prayers  and  obedience  unless  she  under- 
took to  set  aside  the  law  of  Christ,  in  which  case  Ave  must  obey 
God  rather  than  man.    But  the  State  has  a  right  to  frame  her 
own  government,  and  the  Church  in  that  State  must  sustain  and 
respect  that  government.    If,  then,  we  individually  censured  the 
acts  by  Avhich  North  Carolina  seceded  from  the  American  Union 


160  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

and  established  a  government  for  herself,  and  afterwards  adopted 
the  government  of  the  Confederate  States,  still,  as  a  Church,  we 
must  have  acknowledged,  prayed  for,  and  obeyed  that  govern- 
ment; for,  as  to  us,  its  officers  are  'the  powers  that  be,'  whom 
St.  Paul  bids  us  obey.  Happily,  however,  for  our  peace  of  mind, 
we  have  had  no  perplexing  questions  of  the  sort  to  settle.  By  the 
time  the  State  acted,  her  citizens  had  become  nearly  unanimous 
in  the  conviction  that  she  must  adopt  the  course  which  she  has 
pursued.  The  duty  of  the  Church,  in  this  Diocese,  to  the  State, 
is,  then,  clear." 

As  early  as  July  3,  1861  (a  few  days  before  the  North  Caro- 
lina Diocesan  Convention  met  at  Morganton)  a  meeting  of  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Southern  dioceses  had  been  held  at  Mont- 
gomery, Alabama,  being  attended  by  Bishops  Davis  of  South 
Carolina,  Elliott  of  Georgia,  Green  of  Mississippi,  and  Rutledge 
of  Florida,  together  with  some  clerical  and  lay  delegates.  This 
meeting  was  held  in  pursuance  of  a  call  contained  in  a  circular 
letter  sent  to  the  Southern  Bishops  from  Sewanee,  Tennessee,  by 
Bishops  Polk  and  Elliott  in  the  Spring  of  1861.  To  this  call, 
Bishop  Atkinson  did  not  respond.  Polk  himself,  having  reluc- 
tantly laid  aside  his  crosier  and  taken  up  the  sword,  was  absent 
in  the  field.  Of  the  other  Southern  Bishops,  Cobbs  of  Alabama 
had  recently  died,  Meade  of  Virginia  was  infirm  from  age,  Otey 
of  Tennessee  was  ill,  and  Gregg  of  Texas  was  unable  to  get 
through  the  Federal  blockade.  This  meeting  at  Montgomery 
was  more  of  a  conference  than  a  convention — the  Bishops  and 
the  delegates,  both  clerical  and  iay,  all  sitting  together.  The 
conference  agreed  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  Church  in  the 
Confederate  States  to  organize;  and  also  resolved  that  a  com- 
mittee (consisting  of  Bishops  and  both  classes  of  delegates) 
should  prepare  a  constitution  to  be  submitted  to  the  various 
Southern  dioceses.  Then  the  meeting  adjourned  to  re-assemble 
at  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  October  16th-25th,  1861.  At 
this  Columbia  meeting  all  the  Southern  Bishops  were  present 
except  General  Polk.     The  constitution  which  the  committee 


Bishops  of  J^^ortu  Carolina.  161 

had  drawn  up  bj  order  of  the  meeting  at  Montgomery,  and 
which  had  been  submitted  to  each  Southern  diocese  for  ratifi- 
cation, was  found  to  have  been  formally  adopted  by  the  Dioceses 
of  Virginia,  N'orth  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  and  Texas — while  Tennessee,  Louisiana,  Florida, 
and  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  the  South-west  had  been 
prevented,  owing  to  military  occupation  by  United  States  troops, 
from  holding  conventions  to  consider  the  same.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  Right  Reverend  Stephen  Elliott,  of  Georgia, 
Presiding  Bishop,  officially  declared  that  "The  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  Confederate  States  of  America"  was  duly 
organized,  aud  issued  a  call  for  "The  First  General  Council"  of 
the  same,  to  assemble  in  the  city  of  Augusta,  Georgia,  ISTovem- 
ber  12,  1862.  It  met  at  the  appointed  time  and  place — remain- 
ing in  session  till  November  22d — the  Bishops  present  being 
Elliott  of  Georgia,  Johns  of  Virginia,  Atkinson  of  Xorth  Caro- 
lina, Davis  of  South  Carolina,  Lay  of  the  Missionary  Jurisdic- 
tion of  the  South-west,  aud  Wilraer  of  Alabama,  the  last  named 
being  the  first  and  only  Bishop  who  was  consecrated  under  the 
authority  of  the  Church  in  the  Confederate  States. 

In  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  of  the  newly  organized 
Church,  few  changes  were  made.  The  words  "Confederate 
States"  Avere  substituted  for  "United  States"  in  the  prayers  for 
those  in  authority.  Under  the  new  constitution  of  the  Church, 
the  diocesan  assemblies,  both  State  and  jSTational,  were  to  be 
called  "Councils"  instead  of  Conventions.  Up  to  and  including 
the  year  1862,  the  meetings  of  the  clergy  and  laity  in  Xorth 
Carolina  were  called  Conventions,  as  formerly.  In  1863,  1864, 
and  1865,  such  meetings  were  officially  designated  as  Councils; 
and,  thereafter,  they  were  again  called  Conventions.  We  may 
add  that,  in  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina,  the  governing  body, 
from  its  organization,  in  1883,  up  to  the  present  time,  has  been 
called  the  Diocesan  Council,  and  this  is  also  true  of  many  other 
dioceses  throughout  the  United  States. 


162  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

The  constitution  of  the  Church  in  the  Confederate  States 
also  provided  that  whenever  a  single  State  should  contain 
more  than  one  diocese,  these  dioceses  might  he  erected  into 
an  Ecclesiastical  Province,  the  governing  hody  of  which 
should  be  a  Provincial  Council,  meeting  at  least  once  every 
three  years.  Tins  Provincial  Council  was  to  he  made  up 
of  all  the  Bisliops  in  the  State,  and  such  representatives 
(clerical  and  lay)  from  the  several  dioceses,  as  might  be  deter- 
mined by  the  Diocesan  Councils  or  Conventions.  The  senior 
Bishop,  in  line  of  consecration,  should  preside;  and,  if  there 
were  as  many  as  three  Bishops,  they  were  to  form  a  separate 
House.  This  "Provincial  System"  is  now  authorized  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,  and  it  seems 
a  pity  that  T^orth  Carolina  had  not  adopted  it,  for  the  broad 
expanse  of  territory  in  that  State  has  necessitated  the  erection 
of  three  separate  and  distinct  dioceses.  Could  all  three  of  these 
occasionally  meet  in  joint  council,  it  would  bring  together 
Churchmen  from  every  quarter  of  the  State  which  is  the  com- 
mon mother  of  all,  and  renew  the  happy  associations  which  the 
necessities  of  Church  government  have  heretofore  severed — 
aside  from  giving  a  better  idea  of  the  full  strength  of  the  Church 
throughout  the  State  of  ]N^orth  Carolina. 

In  the  Confederate  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  printed  in  Lon- 
don, there  Avas  a  curious  oversight,  as  mentioned  in  the  Reverend 
John  Fulton's  monograph  in  Bishop  Perry's  History  of  the 
American  Episcopal  Church.  In  the  forms  of  prayer  to  be  used 
at  sea,  the  words  "Confederate  States"  were,  through  inadver- 
tence, not  substituted  for  "United  States";  and  hence,  on  the 
Confederate  cruisers,  if  this  form  of  worship  were  used,  the 
ship's  officers  and  crew  must  pray  "that  we  may  be  a  safe-guard 
unto  the  United  States  of  America,  and  a  security  for  such  as 
pass  on  the  seas  upon  their  lawful  occasions !" 

Prior  to  the  war,  Arkansas  had  been  part  of  the  Missionary 
Jurisdiction  of  the  South-west,  with  the  Right  Reverend  Henry 
Charnplin  Lay  as  Missionary  Bishop.     The  General  Convention 


Bishops  of  North  Cauolina.  163 

(or  Council)  of  the  Coufederale  States,  at  its  session  iu  Augusta, 
erected  Arkansas  into  a  separate  diocese,  and  Doctor  Lay  there- 
upon took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Bishops  as  Bishop  of  Arkan- 
sas. Of  the  later  fate  of  the  Diocese  of  Arkansas,  further  men- 
tion will  be  made  in  the  present  work. 

In  the  course  of  his  address  to  the  House  of  Deputies  iu  the 
General  Council  at  Augusta,  its  president,  the  Reverend  Chris- 
tian Hanckel,  D.  D.,  of  South  Carolina,  said:  "We  are  about, 
not  to  detach  ourselves  from  the  Church  Catholic,  but  to  put 
forth  a  new  bud  from  the  parent  stock ;  indeed,  by  our  proceed- 
ings thus  far,  we  have  already  developed  the  elements  of  a  full, 
perfect,  and  complete  branch,  which,  I  trust,  may  grov/  and 
spread  till  it  covers  the  whole  land,  and  reach,  and  bless  by  its 
precious  influence,  the  remotest  par!  of  our  Confederate  States." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  war,  after  I^orth  Carolina  had  se- 
ceded, but  before  the  Diocese  had  by  its  own  act  withdrawn  from 
the  union  with  the  northern  dioceses,  Bishop  xitkinson  incurred 
some  adverse  criticism  in  the  South  by  officially  giving  his  con- 
sent for  the  consecration,  in  a  jSTorthern  State  (Pennsylvania)  of 
an  Assistant  Bishop,  the  Reverend  William  Bacon  Stevens. 
Holding  that  the  Church  and  the  civil  government  were  separate 
and  distinct  institutions.  Bishop  Atkinson's  contention  was  that 
as  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina  had  not,  up  to  that  time,  with- 
drawn from  the  union  of  dioceses  in  the  United  States,  he  was 
still  a  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  its  old 
form ;  and,  as  such,  bound  by  the  canon  law  to  give  his  assent  to, 
or  dissent  from,  such  consecration.  For  reasons  somoAvhat  simi- 
lar, he  refused  to  join  in  the  consecration  of  the  Reverend  Rich- 
ard Hooker  Wilnier  as  Bishop  of  Alabama  (March  6,  1862), 
counseling  delay  in  the  latter  ceremony  until  a  diocesan  union 
could  be  perfected  and  a  Church  of  national  proportions  duly 
organized  within  the  Confederacy.  Alluding  to  this  refusal  on 
his  part,  Bishop  Atkinson  addressed  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
1862  in  these  words :  "It  was  .  .  .  painful  for  me  to  decline 
to  take  part  in  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Wilmer.     The  choice 


164  Bishops  of  TTorth  Carolina. 

made  by  the  Diocese  of  Alabama  I  believed  wise  and  judicious ; 
and  it  would  on  personal  grounds,  moreover,  have  been  very- 
gratifying  to  unite  in  the  hallowed  ceremonial  by  which  the 
brother  thus  chosen  was  set  apart  for  his  new  and  trying  duties. 
But  our  existing  canons,  providing  for  the  consecration  of  a 
Bishop,  could  not  well,  if  at  all,  have  been  carried  out  in  the 
present  state  of  the  Church  and  the  country,  nor  was  this  at- 
tempted; and  our  new  code  had  not  then  been,  and  still  has  not 
been,  ratified.  I  thought  it  right  to  wait  until  these  last  were 
adopted.  In  this  I  differed  from  some  living  Bishops  of  great 
intelligence  and  of  unquestionable  zeal  for  the  Gospel  and  the 
Church,  and  from  one,  since  dead,  whose  character  I  especially 
revered  and  by  whose  judgment  I  have  been  for  many  years 
greatly  influenced — the  late  Bishop  Meade.  Since  it  was  thought 
necessary  that  a  Bishop  should  be  immediately  consecrated  for 
Alabama,  we  may  well  rejoice  that  the  man  set  apart  for  the 
work  should  be  one  so  well  qualified  to  perform  it  to  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  edification  of  His  Church." 

Bishop  Atkinson's  worst  enemy — if  enemies  he  had — could  not 
question  his  loyalty  to  the  Confederate  government,  or  his  in- 
terest in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  its  soldiery.  Time  and  again 
did  he  hold  services  for  the  Il^orth  Carolina  troops  both  in  Vir- 
ginia and  at  home.  Speaking  of  the  year  1861,  he  says:  ''The 
month  of  August  I  spent  in  Virginia,  preaching  to  the  soldiers 
in  various  camps,  and  also  to  congregations  in  several  Churches 
in  Eichmond.  At  Yorktown,  August  6th,  I  buried  a  soldier 
from  North  Carolina."  The  Bishop  also  devoted  some  of  his 
time  to  religious  work  among  soldiers  in  the  large  garrison  at 
Fort  Fisher,  not  many  miles  from  his  home  in  Wilmington. 

During  the  course  of  the  war,  at  least  two  iN'orth  Carolina 
candidates  for  holy  orders  —  Eobert  Walker  Anderson  and 
James  T.  Cooke — were  killed  in  battle.  Among  the  Episcopa- 
lian chaplains  holding  commissions  in  the  various  regiments  of 
ISTorth  Carolina  troops  were  the  Eeverend  Alfred  A.  Watson  (in 
later  years  Bishop  of  East  Carolina),  of  the  Second  Eegiment; 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  165 

the  Reverend  Frederick  Fitz  Gerald,  also  of  the  Second  Regi- 
ment (succeeding  Mr.  Watson)  ;  the  Reverend  Maurice  Hamil- 
ton Vaughan,  and  the  Reverend  George  Patterson,  both  succes- 
sively of  the  Third  Regiment— Mr.  Vaughan  having  been  trans- 
ferred  thereto   from   the   Seventeenth;    the   Reverend   Bennett 
Smedes,  of  the  Fifth  Regiment ;  the  Reverend  Matthias  M.  Mar- 
shall, of  the  Seventh  Regiment,  and  later  Chaplain  of  Hospitals 
at  Kittrell;  the  Reverend  Aristides  S.  Smith,  of  the  Eleventh 
Regiment;   the  Reverend  Mr.   Vaughan    (already  mentioned), 
and  the  Reverend  Girard  W.  Phelps,  of  the  Seventeenth  Regi- 
ment ;  the  Reverend  Joseph  W.  Murphy,  of  the  Forty-third,  and 
later  of  the  Thirty-second  Regiment ;  the  Reverend  John  Huske 
Tillinghast,of  the  Forty-fourth  Regiment ;  the  Reverend  Thomas 
B.  Haughton,of  the  Fiftieth  Regiment ;  and  the  Reverend  Ed^s-in 
Geer  and  the  Reverend  Francis  W.  Hilliard,  Post  Chaplains  at 
Wilmington.    Others  there  were— such  as  the  courageous  Colonel 
Edwin  A.  Osborne,  of  the  Fourth  North  Carolina,  afterwards 
Archdeacon  of  the  Convocation  of  Charlotte— who  entered  the 
ministry  after  the  close  of  hostilities.    Another  brave  soldier  of 
the  same  class  was  Major  James  A.  Weston,  of  the  Thirty-third 
Regiment,  who  was  Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  AscensioTi  at 
Hickory,  North  Carolina,  when  he  died,  on  December  13,  1905. 
In  1880  about  half  a  dozen  ex-Confederate  officers  were  Bishops 
in  the  Church  throughout  the  United  States.    In  Bishop  Atkin- 
son's address  in  1864,  he  refers  to  one  of  the  above  army  chap- 
lains as  follows:    "I  have  also  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving 
again  into  the  Diocese  the  Rev.  Bennett  Smedes,  who,  although 
happily  situated  in  Baltimore,  felt  it  his  duty  to  endure  peril 
and  privation  in  returning  to  his  parents  and  his  native  State  to 
render  service  to  those  to  whom  he  felt  most  bounden.     The 
Bishop  of  Maryland  declining  to  give  him  Letters  Dimissory 
for  this  purpose,  I  received  him  without  them.    He  first  became 
a  Chaplain  in  the  Army;  but,  his  health  failing  him  in  a  mode 
of  life  to  which  he  was  unaccustomed,  he  has  since  become  the 
Assistant  of  his  father,  the  Rev.  Aldert  Smedes,  in  charge  of 


166  Bishops  of  jSTorth  Caeolina. 

St.  Mary's  School,  Raleigli,  tlie  onerous  duties  of  which  were 
pressing  too  heavily  on  the  latter."  Including  the  Reverend 
Bennett  Smedes,  just  mentioned  (himself  at  one  time  a  prisoner, 
having  been  captured  while  coming  South),  Doctor  Aldert 
Smedes  had  four  sons  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  two  were 
killed  in  battle. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  all  the  courage  and  devotion 
displayed  by  the  clergy  during  the  war  were  confined  to 
camp  and  field;  for  more  unflinching  bravery  is  hard  to  find 
than  that  which  stands  unappalled  before  the  pestilence  that 
walketh  in  darkness  and  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at  noonday. 
Yellow  fever,  with  all  its  attendant  horrors,  in  1862,  visited  the 
seaport  city  of  Wilmington,  where  had  long  been  stationed  the 
Reverend  Robert  Brent  Drane,  D.  D.,  Rector  of  the  parish  of 
Saint  James.  In  recording  Doctor  Draue's  devotion  unto  death, 
amid  that  terrible  epidemic,  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the 
account  given  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1863  by  Bishop  Atkin- 
son, in  these  words:  "Remarkable  as  Dr.  Drane  had  ever  been 
for  his  attention  to  his  flock,  he  became  doubly  assiduous  in  that 
distressing  time,  and  especially,  as  I  have  reason  to  know,  to  the 
poor  and  friendless,  carrying  with  his  own  hand,  day  by  day, 
the  nourishment  and  the  little  comforts  which  they  needed  and 
which  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  supply.  In  the  midst  of  this 
career  of  ministerial  fidelity  and  Christian  charity,  he  was  him- 
self stricken  down ;  and,  after  a  few  days'  illness,  borne  with  his 
usual  fortitude  and  faith,  he  died.  Wilmington  has  had  many 
citizens  v/ho  are  honored  and  respected,  and  some  of  the  chief  of 
these  she  lost  in  that  season  of  pestilence,  but  none  of  the  living 
and  none  of  the  dead  could  have  been  removed  with  deeper  and 
more  universal  grief  than  followed  the  death  of  Dr.  Drane.  He 
had  been  the  Rector  of  St.  James's  Church,  with  but  a  short 
intermission,  for  eight  and  twenty  years — living  among  a  people 
many  of  whom  he  had  baptized,  not  a  few  of  whom  he  had  mar- 
ried, many  of  whom  he  had  comforted  in  sickness  and  trouble, 
and  all  of  whom  he  had  instructed  in  the  Christian  faith  ably 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  167 

and  successfully.  Dislinguishod,  too,  as  he  was,  lor  his  powers 
as  a  preacher,  the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  his  unwearied  dili- 
gence as  a  pastor,  and  his  consistency  to  principle,  his  loss  will 
be  felt  for  years  in  his  congregation  and  coninninity.  jSTo  suc- 
cessor, whatever  his  qualities  may  be,  can  adequately  fill  his 
place  at  once;  for  fonfidence,  such  as  was  felt  towards  him,  is  a 
plant  of  slow  growth.  In  this  body,  we  shall  be  very  sensible  of 
the  loss  of  his  counsels  and  his  labors."  A  worthy  son  and  name- 
sake of  Doctor  Drane  is  at  present  Rector  of  Saint  Paul's 
Church,  an  old  colonial  house  of  worship,  in  Edenton,  North 
Carolina,  "where  (excepting  a  year's  service  in  Wilmington  as 
deacon)  he  has  been  stationed  during  his  entire  ministerial  life. 
Bishop  Atkinson  himself  was  Rector  of  the  parish  of  Saint 
James  for  a  short  while  after  the  elder  Doctor  Drane  died,  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend  Alfred  A.  Watson. 

During  the  same  year  that  the  elder  Doctor  Drane  died  in 
Wilmington,  a  faithful  deacon  of  the  Church,  laboring  in  an 
entirely  different  sphere,  passed  away.  His  life  was  spent 
among  the  mountains  of  N^orth  Carolina,  near  the  temporarily 
abandoned  mission  of  Vallo  Crusis.  This  was  the  Reverend  Wil- 
liam West  Skiles.  Of  him  the  Bishop  said :  "He  was  a  true  mis- 
sionary :  humble,  patient,  laborious,  and  affectionate — not  de- 
spising the  day  of  small  things,  and  still  less  despising  any 
human  soul,  however  rude,  and  ig-norant,  and  sin-stained  that 
soul  might  be.  Long  will  the  dwellers  in  the  valleys  and  forests 
of  that  wild  mountain  region  miss  their  faithful  pastor,  who  was 
at  the  same  time  their  physician,  their  counsellor,  and  their 
familiar  friend."  In  1890  there  was  published  a  little  volume 
entitled  William  West  Skiles,  a  Sketch  of  Missionary  Life  at 
Valle  Crusis,  by  Susan  Fenimore  Cooper. 

Another  death  among  the  clergy,  recorded  with  sorrow  by  the 
Bishop  about  the  time  that  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Drane  and 
Skiles  passed  away,  was  that  of  the  Reverend  George  Benton, 
formerly  a  missionary  to  Greece,  who  spent  the  last  seventeen 


168  Bishops  of  jSTorth  Carolina. 

'years  of  his  life  in  faithful  lahors  among  the  people  of  ^sTorth 
Carolina,  chiefly  at  Eockfish,  in  Cumberland  County.  One  of  his 
sons  (born  in  Crete),  the  Reverend  Angelo  Ames  Benton,  D.  D., 
was  for  some  years  a  clergyman  in  the  Diocese  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  a  theological  writer  of  note,  his  chief  work  being  The 
Church  Cyclopaedia.  The  latter  gentleman  also  attained  dis- 
tinction as  an  educator,  being  Professor  of  Latin  and  Greek  in 
Delaware  College  for  a  while,  and  afterwards  Professor  of  Dog- 
matic Theology  in  the  University  of  the  South,  at  Sewanee,  Ten- 
nessee. 

The  whole  course  of  the  war  was  a  sore  and  continued  trial, 
not  only  to  the  country  in  general,  but  to  the  Church  as  well. 
A  note  of  sorrow,  yet  not  of  despair,  is  found  in  the  Bishop's 
address  of  1862.  "We  are  met  together,"  he  said,  "to  take  coun- 
sel for  the  Church  on  a  dark  and  anxious  day,  both  for  the 
Church  and  the  country.  The  invading  enemy  has  taken  pos- 
session of  a  considerable  part  of  this  State,  as  well  as  of  others 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  is  seeking  to  over-run  and 
possess  the  whole.  In  this  we  suffer,  not  only  as  patriots,  but  as 
Churchmen.  The  blood  of  our  brethren  of  the  household  of 
faith  has  been  shed  on  the  field  of  battle.  Our  congregations 
have  been  dispersed,  our  ministers  driven  from  their  Churches, 
public  worship  suspended,  and  the  slender  maintenance  of  the 
clergy  diminished  or  taken  away.  It  is  a  sore  and  grievous 
trial,  necessary,  we  must  suppose,  because  it  comes  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  but  hard  to  bear  without  despondency,  without 
secret  murmurings  against  that  providence,  and  without  bitter 
and  malignant  feelings  against  the  men  who  have  brought  these 
calamities  upon  us.  May  we,  by  His  grace,  learn  thus  to  bear  it 
and  to  inherit  the  blessing  promised  to  those  who  suffer  as  Chris- 
tians." 

During  the  war  the  Church  lost  by  sickness  many  old  and 
honored  members — Frederick  J.  Hill,  M.  D.,  Edward  Lee  Wins- 
low  (Secretary  of  the  Diocese),  Josiah  Collins,  and  others — 
while  countless  numbers  of  her  younger  sons  were  slain  fighting 


Bisuors  OF  iSToKTii  Carolina.  169 

the  battles  of  the  Confederacy.  I^or  did  laymen  alone  take  up 
the  sword,  for  one  great  Bishop,  Lconidas  Polk  of  Louisiana,  a 
native  Xorth  Carolinian  of  heroic  Revolutionary  lineage,  yielded 
to  the  pressure  of  the  times  and  reluctantly  laid  aside  pastoral 
staff  to  accept  the  command  of  an  army  corps  raised  to  fight 
the  invaders — later  being  killed  at  Pine  Mountain.  Several 
other  Southern  Bishops  passed  away  more  peacefully  during  the 
progress  of  hostilities — Cobbs  of  Alabama,  Meade  of  Virginia, 
and  Otey  of  Tennessee,  all  being  taken  at  a  time  when  their  wise 
counsels  were  sorely  needed. 

In  Xorth  Carolina  much  damage  was  done  to  Church  prop- 
erty, nor  were  the  clergymen  themselves  exempt  from  personal 
indignities.  The  Reverend  William  R.  Wetmore  was  ejected  from 
Christ  Church  in  N'ew  Bern,  and  a  Chaplain  from  the  Federal 
Army  placed  in  his  pulpit.  Grace  Church  in  Plymouth  was 
three  times  struck  by  shells  and  badly  damaged  during  a  bomb- 
ardment. Saint  Peter's  Church  in  Washington,  Beaufort 
County,  was  burned;  while  Saint  James's  Church  in  Wilming- 
ton, and  other  houses  of  worship  throughout  the  State,  were 
taken  possession  of  for  Federal  hospitals. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  war,  Bishop  Atkinson's  family  had 
been  removed  by  him  to  Wadesboro,  in  Anson  County,  as  it  was 
thought  to  be  a  safer  neighborhood  than  the  vicinity  of  Wil- 
mington. Upon  the  advance  of  some  of  Sherman's  marauders 
toward  that  village,  the  Bishop — being  a  non-combatant — de- 
cided to  remain,  thinking  his  age  and  sacred  office  would  be 
some  protection.  In  this  he  was  mistaken,  however;  for  one  of 
the  soldiers  held  a  pistol  at  his  head,  while  the  others  robbed  his 
home  of  such  possessions  as  could  be  carried  away.  Alluding  to 
this  matter  later,  the  Bishop  said :  "While  I  do  not  affect  to  be 
indifferent,  either  to  the  outrage  or  to  the  loss  I  have  sustained, 
T  felt  at  the  time,  and  still  feel,  that  it  is  a  weighty  counter- 
balancing consideration  that,  partaking  of  the  evils  which  the 
people  of  my  charge  have  been  called  upon  to  undergo,  I  could 
more  truly  and  deeply  sympathize  with  them  in  their  suffer- 
ings." 


170  Bishops  of  jSTorth  Carolina. 

Xever  was  there  greater  need  for  the  people  to  pray  for  de- 
liverance from  plague,  pestilence,  and  famine;  from  battle  and 
murder,  and  from  sudden  death,  than  at  the  time  when  the 
War  Between  the  States  was  in  progress — ^yet  even  then  the 
energies  of  the  Church  were  by  no  means  paralyzed.  Houses  of 
worship  were  dedicated,  the  clergymen  pursued  their  labors 
without  murmuring  at  privations  which  were  the  common  lot  of 
all,  and  the  Bishop  went  on  his  visitations  to  the  congregations 
throughout  the  Diocese.  In  passing  through  Scotland  ISTeck,  in 
Halifax  County,  where  the  principal  crop  could  not  be  marketed 
on  account  of  the  war.  Bishop  x\tkinson  asked  whether  the  con- 
gregation of  Trinity  Church,  in  view  of  their  reverses,  would  be 
able  to  raise  the  usual  contributions  to  missions  and  the  amount 
necessary  for  the  support  of  the  parish,  and  received  the  answer 
that  their  contributions  to  the  Church  would  be  increased,  be- 
cause there  was  greater  need  for  them.  One  lady  of  that  parish, 
Mrs.  Martha  Clark,  hearing  that  the  Church's  educational  inter- 
ests were  suffering  for  lack  of  funds,  sent  two  thousand  dollars 
to  the  Bishop  to  aid  the  work.  Josiah  Collins  gave  a  thousand 
dollars  to  finish  the  Church  in  Plymouth.  The  debt  on  Saint 
Peter's  Church  in  Charlotte  had  borne  heavily  on  the  congrega- 
tion of  that  parish,  and  it  was  feared  that  it  would  be  several 
years,  at  least,  before  it  could  be  discharged,  when  one  member. 
Captain  John  Wilkes,  paid  off  the  entire  encumbrance  and  thus 
enabled  the  Bishop  to  proceed  with  its  consecration.  Tliese  and 
hundreds  of  other  contributions,  smaller  in  amount,  but  large 
in  proportion  to  the  means  of  the  givers,  were  received  by  the 
Church  during  the  terrible  ordeal  of  war  through  which  she  was 
passing,  and  enabled  her  to  retain  life  until  the  coming  of  belter 
times. 

Peace  came  to  the  land  at  last,  and  with  it  came  many  perplex- 
ing problems  and  responsibilities — problems  requiring  ecclesias- 
tical wisdom  and  Christian  forbearance,  coupled  with  that  self- 
respect  which  compels  respect  from  others.  If  re-union  could  be 
arranged  with  the  dioceses  throughout  the  United  States  on 


Bishops  of  ]SroRTii  Cakolina.  171 

terms  honorable  to  botli  sides,  the  Southern  Church  was  ready 
to  rejoin  the  Northern  dioceses ;  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  North 
had  waited  for  the  Southern  dioceses  to  come  back  as  prodigals, 
it  v.ould  still  bo  waiting — and  it  is  greatly  to  the  honor  of  both 
sections  that  the  American  Church  is  now  undivided.  Nor  was 
the  Southern  Church  in  any  Avay  at  the  mercy  of  outsiders,  as 
the  American  Church  had  been  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution, 
for  it  had  a  valid  Episcopate  within  its  own  borders.  It  was  not 
altogether  unlike  the  Church  of  England  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation — many  of  the  same  Bishops  being  in  office  both 
before  and  after  the  change  took  place,  and  able  to  transmit 
their  powers  to  successors  in  the  Episcopate.  This  was  the 
status  of  affairs  at  the  close  of  the  War  betv»'een  the  States. 

As  to  the  war  which  had  just  closed.  Southern  Churchmen,  as 
a  class,  had  more  cause  to  be  embittered  than  was  the  case  with 
members  of  religious  denominations  which  Jiad  no  liturgy  con- 
taining a  prayer  for  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States. 
When  Portsmouth,  Virginia,  was  occupied  by  United  States 
forces  under  General  Be7ijamin  F.  Butler,  the  Reverend  John 
H.  D.  Wingiield,  afterAvards  Bishop  of  Northern  California,  was 
sent  to  the  chain-gang,  and  there  clad  in  the  garb  of  a  convict, 
because  he  would  not  pray  for  the  President  of  the  United 
States  when  ordered  to  do  so  by  the  military  authorities.  At  a 
somewhat  earlier  date,  Butler's  "exploits  as  an  ecclesiastical  dis- 
ciplinarian" had  also  been  performed  in  New  Orleans,  when 
(among  other  acts  in  keeping  with  his  character)  he  caused  the 
Rectors  of  three  Churches  in  that  city  to  be  arrested  and  sent 
North  for  likewise  neglecting  this  prayer  for  the  President  of 
the  United  States.  In  North  Carolina,  the  Reverend  Cyrus 
Waters  was  imprisoned  by  some  subaltern  authorities  in  the 
United  States  Army  during  the  war,  "not  on  the  ground  that  he 
had  committed  any  offense,  but  to  deter  others  from  offending." 
Upon  hearing  of  this  case,  the  post  commander  at  New  Bern, 
General  Palmer,  ordered  his  release,  but  the  cold  contracted  in 
prison  soon  developed  info  consumption,  and  Mr.  Waters  died 


172  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

from  its  effects,  two  years  after  the  return  of  peace,  in  his  native 
State  of  Maryland.  In  Alabama,  just  after  the  war,  when 
Bishop  Wilmer  would  not  obey  orders  which  warned  him  not  to 
omit  the  prayer  for  the  President,  every  house  of  worship  in  his 
Diocese  was  closed  and  guarded,  by  direction  of  General  George 
H.  Thomas,  who  issued  an  order  that  "the  said  Richard  Hooker 
"Wilmer,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Dio- 
cese of  Alabama,  and  the  Protestant  Episcopal  clergy  of  the 
said  Diocese,  be,  and  they  are,  hereby  suspended  from  their 
functions,  and  forbidden  to  preach  or  perform  divine  service." 
Considering  its  source,  this  is  probably  the  most  remarkable  de- 
cree of  its  kind  ever  framed  in  America — a  sentence  of  deposi- 
tion passed  upon  a  Bishop  of  the  Church  and  all  of  his  clergy 
by  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Army !  This  absurd  order  was 
later  set  aside  by  the  authorities  in  Washington ;  and,  when  left 
undisturbed  by  military  interposition,  Bishop  Wilmer  volun- 
tarily resumed  the  use  of  the  prayer  which  he  had  declined  to 
have  forced  down  his  throat  by  military  power.  During  this 
controversy,  one  weak-kneed  clergyman  in  Alabama  offered  to 
use  this  prayer  "under  protest"  if  his  church  were  allowed  to 
remain  open.  Well  might  Bishop  Wilmer  ask  (as  he  did)  how 
much  the  President  would  be  benefited  by  "prayers  offered  under 
protest."  The  recollection  of  these,  and  other  wrongs  which 
they  had  suffered,  was  not  calculated  to  put  Churchmen  at  the 
South  in  a  very  amiable  frame  of  mind  at  the  close  of  the  war, 
yet  they  remembered  that  the  injuries  done  their  Church  and 
clergy  had  come  from  military  sources  and  not  through  any 
decrees  by  councils  of  the  Church  in  the  Northern  States.  For- 
tunately for  the  cause  of  Church  re-union  after  the  war,  many 
warm  friendships,  formed  between  the  various  Bishops  from 
both  sections  in  ante-helium  days,  still  existed.  Only  one  Gen- 
eral Convention  in  the  North  had  been  held  during  the  war 
(New  York,  October  lst-17th,  1862),  and,  in  that  body,  the  roll- 
call  of  the  House  of  Deputies  had  begun,  as  of  old,  with  "Ala- 
bama," first  on  the  alphabetical  list.    So  far  as  the  Journals  of 


Bishops  of  JSTokth  Carolina.  173 

the  two  Houses  showed,  one  might  almost  suppose  that  the 
Southern  Bishops  and  depuiies  had  been  delayed  by  late  trains 
or  some  other  commonplace  cause,  and  were  hourly  expected  to 
appear  and  take  their  seats.  The  first  General  Convention,  after 
the  war,  met  in  Saint  Andrew's  Church,  Philadelphia,  October 
4th-24th,  1865.  Prior  to  its  assembling,  the  Right  Reverend 
John  Henry  Hopkins,  of  Vermont,  Presiding  Bishop  (with  the 
approbation  of  his  Northern  colleagues)  had  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Southern  Bishops,  urging  them  to  come  and  resume  their 
places,  and  to  see  that  their  dioceses  were  represented  in  the 
House  of  Deputies.  The  North  Carolina  Diocesan  Convention 
passed  a  resolution  favoring  this  re-union  if  it  could  be  obtained 
upon  honorable  tei*ms.  In  response  to  Bishop  Hopkins's  invita- 
tion, Bishop  Atkinson  and  Bishop  Lay  proceeded  to  Philadel- 
phia, their  chief  purpose  being  to  confer  informally  with  the 
members  of  the  Convention  and  ascertain  whether  objectionable 
conditions  would  be  imposed  upon  the  South  as  pre-requisites  to 
re-union.  The  two  Southerners  took  their  seats  in  the  body  of 
the  Church  at  the  opening  of  the  Convention;  and,  when  their 
presence  was  observed  they  were  immediately  invited  to  join  the 
other  Bishops  within  the  chancel — but  this  invitation  they  felt  it 
proper  to  decline.  After  the  services,  they  were  warmly  greeted 
by  many  of  their  brother  Bishops,  who  assured  them  of  con- 
siderate treatment  and  a  friendly  reception,  and  prevailed  upon 
them  to  take  their  seats.  On  questions  involved  in  the  action  of 
the  Church  in  the  Confederacy,  Bishops  Atkinson  and  Lay 
asked  to  be  excused  from  voting,  being  determined  to  let  the 
responsibility  rest  with  those  who  represented  the  Church  in  the 
North.  After  reviewing  the  case  of  Bishop  Wilmer,  the  House 
of  Bishops  held  that  his  consecration  was  valid,  though  some- 
what irregular  in  preliminaries  (such  as  not  obtaining  consent 
of  the  required  number  of  Bishops  throughout  the  United 
States),  and  decided  that  he  should  be  admitted  to  a  seat  in  the 
House  of  Bishops  after  subscribing  the  usual  declaration. 
Bishop  Lay's  own  case  might  have  raised  a  perplexing  question. 


174  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

but  for  liis  own  sensible  action.  Before  tbe  war,  he  bad  been 
Missionary  Bishop  of  the  South-\vest,  which  Jurisdiction  in- 
cluded Arkansas.  Under  the  authority  of  the  Confederate  Church, 
xirkansas  had  been  severed  from  that  part  of  the  Missionary 
Jurisdiction  not  embraced  within  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
and  erected  into  a  separate  Diocese  Avith  Doctor  Lay  as  Dio- 
cesan Bishop.  Yet,  on  the  rolls  of  the  Church  in  the  United 
States,  he  was  still  recorded  as  Missionary  Bishop  of  the  South- 
west. The  General  Convention  stood  ready  to  recognize  Arkan- 
sas as  a  Diocese,  but  Bishop  Lay  stated,  in  effect,  that  this 
newly  created  diocese  had  been  swept  away  by  the  war — that 
two  priests,  without  parishes  and  laboring  in  secular  callings 
for  a  livelihood,  were  all  that  remained  of  his  clergy,  while  no 
lay  delegates  could  be  gathered  together ;  hence  it  was  impossible 
for  even  the  semblance  of  a  diocesan  convention  to  assemble 
in  Arkansas  to  consider  the  situation.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, he  thought  the  only  course  open  was  for  the  State  of 
Arkansas  to  be  made  a  Missionary  Jurisdiction.  This  action, 
he  declared,  would  be  no  reflection  upon  the  Church  in  the  late 
Confederacy,  since  the  General  Convention  had  expressed  its 
willingness  to  recognize  him  as  Diocesan  Bishop  of  Arkansas. 
He  was  accordingly  made  Missionary  Bishop  of  Arkansas ;  and, 
some  years  later,  became  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Easton, 
which  is  that  part  of  the  State  of  Maryland  east  of  Chesapeake 
Bay.  One  of  Bishop  Lay's  sons,  the  Keverend  George  W.  Lay, 
is  now  a  clergyman  in  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina,  being 
Rector  of  Saint  Mary's  School  at  Raleigh. 

This  General  Convention  of  1865,  at  Philadelphia,  however, 
was  not  an  uninterrupted  love-feast.  Several  resolutions  vv^ere 
offered  which  came  perilously  near  causing  a  permanent  division 
of  the  Church.  Of  these  matters,  and  Bishop  Atkinson's  action 
thereon,  we  find  a  full  account  in  the  History  of  the  American 
Episcopal  Church,  by  the  Reverend  Samuel  D.  McConnell,D.D. 
That  writer  says : 


BiSJIOl'S  OK  XoUTU   C'akoli.na.  ll't 

"The  harmony  caiiio  near  heiui;  lU'stniyinl  by  an  u.;fxi>e<.-lwl  n:eaiis. 
The  ITonso  of  P.ishoi)s  proiiosed  a  tlianksjcivniK  service  for  'the  resto- 
ration of  peace  and  the  re-estahlishnient  of  tlie  National  (Joverniuent 
over  the  whole  land.'  The  Bisliop  of  North  Carolina  iirotested  that 
his  people  could  not  say  that.  They  acquiesced  in  the  result  of  the 
war.  and  would  aceouimodate  themselves  to  it  like  good  citizens ;  but 
they  were  not  thankful.  They  had  prayed  that  the  issue  might  have 
been  different.  They  were  ready  to  'returu  thanks  for  peace  to  the 
country,  and  unity  to  the  Church.'  but  that  was  a  different  matter. 
Bisliop  Stevens  of  Pennsylvania  moved  to  substitute  the  Southern 
man's  words  for  the  ones  in  the  resolution  offered.  His  motion  was 
carried  by  sixteen  to  seven.  When  the  amended  resolution  was  offered 
in  the  House  of  Deputies.  Horace  P.umey  of  Pennsylvania  moved  to 
restore  the  original  phrase  giving  thanks  'for  the  re-establishment  of 
the  National  Government  over  the  whole  land.'  and  to  add  to  it  'and 
for  the  removal  of  the  gi-eat  occasion  of  national  dissension  and 
estrangement  to  which  our  late  troubles  were  due'  (referring  to 
slavery  K  A  storm  of  discussion  at  once  arose,  both  within  and  without 
the  Convention.  The  secular  jn-ess  of  the  country  took  up  the  matter; 
declared  that  the  loyalty  of  the  Church  itself  was  upon  trial ;  that  it 
dare  not  refuse  to  pass  Mr.  lUnney's  patriotic  resolution  :  that  too  much 
tenderness  had  already  been  shown  to  'unreconstructed  rebels.'  Dr.  Ker- 
foot,  President  of  Trinity  College,  came  to  the  re.scue.  He  had  been, 
all  through  the  war.  a  Union  man  in  a  place  where  his  loyalty  had 
cost  him  something.  His  college  [Saint  James]  in  Maryland  had  been 
well-nigh  destroyed.  He  had  tended  the  wounded  at  Antietam  and 
South  Mountain,  battles  fought  at  his  very  door.  He  had  been  seized 
a  prisoner  by  General  Early's  order.  His  goods  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  Confederate  soldiei-y.  He.  if  any  one,  had  the  right  to  speak. 
His  own  loyalty  was  beyond  all  question.  He  begged  the  Convention 
to  remember  that  it  had  itself  invited  and  urged  the  Southern  dele- 
gates to  come ;  that  the  place  to  celebrate  the  triumph  of  Northern 
arms  was  outside  of  the  Church  ;  that  not  only  the  present  but  the 
future  peace  of  the  Church  was  at  stake ;  that  if  the  Church  should 
be  led  by  its  passions  now.  future  unity  would  be  impossible ;  that 
'their  thanksgiving  for  unity  and  peace  should  ascend  to  the  throne 
of  God  in  such  a  form  that  all  could  honestly  join  in  it.'  His  wise 
and  earnest  argument  prevailed.  By  a  vote  of  twenty  dioceses  to  six, 
Mr.  Binney's  amendment  was  defeated,  and  the  House  of  Bishops' 
more  generous  terms  were  carried.  This  action  settled  the  question 
of  reunion.  The  Southern  Church  met  once  more  in  Augusta^  closed 
out  its  affairs  decently,  and  was  no  more." 

In  reporting  his  attendance  upon  the  General  Convention 
of  1865  to  his  Diocesan  Convention  of  1866  Bishop  Atkinson 
said  that  he  learned  (while  in  Philadelphia)  that  if  no  South- 


176  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Cakolina. 

ern  Bishops  and  deputies  had  there  presented  themselves,  there 
would  either  have  been  no  re-union  of  the  Church,  or  it  would 
have  been  accomplished  upon  terms  altogether  distasteful,  and 
not  very  creditable  to  the  South.  Of  the  final  outcome  of  the 
deliberations  at  Philadelphia,  he  said:  "This  most  auspicious 
result  must,  under  God,  be  ascribed  mainly  to  the  truly  Chris- 
tian and  magnanimous  spirit  displayed  by  the  great  body  of  the 
Bishops  and  other  Delegates  from  the  l^orthern  Dioceses  who 
attended  that  Convention.  All  of  them  had  to  expose  them- 
selves to  prejudice,  and  some  of  them  to  the  danger  of  actual 
privation  and  penury  for  venturing  to  do  their  duty  in  that 
crisis  of  the  history  of  the  Church.  But  none  of  these  things 
moved  them,  and  they  went  forward  and  acted  as  became 
Bishops  and  ministers  and  members  of  the  Church  of  God, 
who  must  give  an  account  to  Him  for  what  they  did ;  and,  under 
His  blessing,  the  result  has  been  that  none,  so  far  as  I  have 
heard,  has  suffered.  And  the  character  and  position  of  the 
Church  have  been  immeasurably  exalted  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people."  When  another  triennial  General  Convention  assembled 
(in  the  year  1868),  everj'-  Southern  Bishop  was  in  his  place 
and  harmony  again  prevailed  in  the  national  councils  of  the 
Church. 

In  the  House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies  at  the  General 
Convention  of  1865,  ISTorth  Carolina  was  well  represented,  only 
one  lay  deputy  (Colonel  Bobert  Strange)  failing  to  attend. 
Those  present  were  the  Keverend  Doctors  Richard  S.  Mason, 
Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Sr.,  Fordyce  M.  Hubbard,  and  William 
Hodges,  of  the  clergy;  and  Judge  William  H.  Battle,  Mr. 
Richard  H.  Smith,  and  Doctor  Kemp  P.  Battle,  of  the  laity. 

For  the  part  they  had  taken  in  the  General  Convention  of 
1865,  Bishops  Atkinson  and  Lay  received  a  letter  of  congratu- 
lation from  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  in  which  that  incomparable 
soldier  and  devout  Churchman  highly  commended  the  wisdom 
of  their  course.  For  many  years  General  Lee  and  Bishop 
Atkinson  were  close  personal  friends. 


Eisiiors  OF  ^OKTu  Carolina.  177 

From  February  till  November,  1865,  Bisbop  Lay  and  bis 
fuiuily  lived  at  Lincolnton,  JSTortb  Carolina;  and,  wbile  tbere, 
be  sometimes  administered  the  rite  of  confirmation  in  the  sur- 
rounding country,  at  the  request  of  Bisbop  Atkinson,  in  addi- 
tion to  performing  other  offices  in  connection  with  the  sacred 
ministry. 

During  the  month  of  October,  1865,  in  the  lawless  and  de- 
moralized period  immediately  succeeding  the  war,  the  Church 
lost  one  of  its  most  zealous  and  highly  esteemed  clergymen 
under  circumstances  peculiarly  shocking.  The  Reverend  Rob- 
ert A.  Castleman,  Rector  of  Saint  Mark's  Church  in  the  town 
of  Halifax,  was  then  living  at  Gaston,  in  Halifax  County,  and 
went  to  take  tea  with  one  of  his  friends  in  the  neighboring  vil- 
lage of  Summit,  which  was  within  walking  distance  of  his 
home.  Late  in  the  evening  he  said  good-night  to  his  host,  and 
was  never  again  seen  alive  by  any  of  his  friends.  His  family 
becoming  alarmed  in  the  morning,  a  search  was  instituted,  and 
his  body  was  found  dead  from  the  effects  of  a  bullet  fired  at 
such  close  range  that  the  powder  had  scorched  his  clothing. 
Strict  investigation  failed  to  reveal  the  identity  of  his  assassin, 
who,  as  Bishop  Atkinson  said,  "either  bore  him  a  grudge — 
the  existence  of  which  he  himself  did  not  suspect — or  who  mis- 
took him  for  another  person."  The  latter  presumption  seems 
more  likely  true,  as  a  contemporaneous  newspaper  account  of 
the  tragedy,  in  speaking  of  Mr.  Castleman,  stated  that  he  "was 
universally  beloved  in  his  section,  had  no  enemies,  and  certainly 
no  one  could  have  slain  him  for  the  purpose  of  robbery." 

The  honorable  re-union  of  the  dioceses  which  had  been  tempo- 
rarily separated  by  the  war  was  a  source  of  great  joy  to  Bishop 
Atkinson.  Just  before  the  General  Convention  of  1865,  when 
referring  to  the  probable  result  of  permanent  separation,  he 
declared :  "Rival  congregations  will  be  established  in  the  same 
town,  altar  will  be  set  up  against  altar,  and  preacher  inveigh 
against  preacher,  until,  instead  of  the  Church  being  as  hereto- 
fore, the  refuge  of  those  who  love  peace  and  prefer  religious 


178  BisMOPs  OF  J^oRTir  Carolina. 

instruction  and  exhortation  to  political  harangues,  it  will  be- 
come a  den  of  controversy  and  a  fomenter  of  political  passion. 
Similar  results  may  be  expected,  in  some  degree,  at  the  North, 
especially  in  the  border  States  and  the  great  cities ;  for,  in  these, 
congregations  with  Southern  sympathies,  might  well  be  organ- 
ized. Let  us,  then,  endeavor  to  forecast  the  future  as  well  as 
we  can,  for  we  are  not  deciding  any  ephemeral  question.  The 
conclusion  to  which  we  shall  now  come  is  one  in  which  our  chil- 
dren and  our  children's  children  have  a  deep  interest  as  well 
as  ourselves."  In  this  same  address,  the  Bishop  said :  ''^During 
the  war,  language  was  undoubtedly  used  by  ministers  and  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  at  the  I^orth  which  appeared  to  us  justly 
liable  to  exception ;  but  no  act  has  been  done  by  the  Church,  as 
a  body,  of  which  we  can  complain."  Indeed,  the  Church  as  a 
body,  church  societies,  and  church  members,  in  more  favored 
sections  of  the  Union,  were  neither  unmindful  nor  neglectful  of 
the  impoverished  Southern  parishes  after  the  war,  and  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  record  here  their  generosity — especially  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  truth  has  already  impelled  us  to  tell  of  so  many 
wrongs  coming  from  political  and  military  sources.  In  1866, 
Bishop  Atkinson  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  twelve  hundred 
dollars  from,  the  Committee  on  Domestic  Missions;  seven  hun- 
dred dollars  from  Church  members  in  Louisville,  Kentucky; 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  from  persons  in  Maryland;  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  from  the  Bureau  of  Relief;  a  box  of 
clothing,  for  the  destitute,  from  Cooperstown,  ISTew  York,  and 
another  box  from  the  parish  of  the  Reverend  James  A.  Buck, 
in  Maryland ;  also  gifts  of  many  Bibles  and  Prayer  Books  from 
the  Bishop  White  Prayer  Book  Society  of  Philadelphia,  and 
the  New  York  Bible  and  Prayer  Book  Society.  Besides  these 
donations  to  the  Church,  Bishop  Atkinson  mentioned  that  he 
had  personally  received  many  tokens  of  affection,  in  the  shape 
of  gifts,  from  his  former  parishioners  in  Baltimore.  In  1867, 
a  friend  of  the  Bishop's  in  Boston  (who  wished  his  name  with- 
lield)  sent  a  hundred  dollars  for  the  relief  of  destitute  persons 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  179 

in  the  Diocese  of  N^orlli  Carolina;  a  society  of  ladies  in  !New 
York  sent  four  hundred  dollars;  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of 
Wilmington,  irrespective  of  creed,  the  sum  of  eight  hundred 
dollars  was  sent  to  the  Bishop  from  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  one 
hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars  came  from  the  congregation  of 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Fuller,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  through 
Bishop  Kerfoot ;  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  dollars 
from  the  congregation  of  the  Reverend  Doctor  Earaes  at  Con- 
cord, IsTew  Hampshire.  In  1867,  reference  was  made  by  the 
Bishop  to  gifts  (for  diocesan  uses)  from  Grace  Church,  in 
Baltimore,  amounting  to  three  hundred  dollars;  and  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  came  from  a  North  Carolina  lady  residing 
in  the  same  city;  fifty  dollars  was  given  by  the  congi'egarion 
of  the  Reverend  Doctor  Doane,  in  Albany,  New  York;  and 
upwards  of  five  hundred  dollars  (through  Bishop  Horatio  Pot- 
ter) was  donated  by  an  association  of  gentlemen  in  the  Diocese 
of  New  York.  In  1870,  gifts  were  acknowledged  including  ten 
shares  of  railroad  stock  from  John  H.  Swift,  of  New  York; 
three  thousand  dollars  from  the  estate  of  Caleb  Dorsey,  of  How- 
ard County,  Maryland;  nearly  six  hundred  dollars  from  the 
congregation  of  Grace  Church  in  Baltimore  for  Ravenscroft 
School  at  Asheville ;  and  three  hundred  dollars,  by  bequest,  from 
Miss  Charlotte  Hicks,  of  Michigan,  who  had  died  in  North 
Carolina  and  from  whose  estate  the  Bishop  said  that  about 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  would  later  be  paid  to  the  Diocese. 
These,  and  many  unrecorded  gifts  in  that  time,  as  well  as  in 
later  years,  materially  aided  the  work  of  the  Church,  and  also 
did  much  to  allay  the  fire  of  sectional  bitterness;  for,  though 
a  large  part  of  the  above  amounts  were  sent  by  Southerners 
in  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Missouri  and  other  border  States, 
the  sums  of  money  which  came  from  more  northern  localities 
were  by  no  means  inconsiderable.  Nor  were  these  gifts  from 
outside  confined  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  for  other  Chris- 
tian bodies  and  the  poor  of  all  religious  beliefs  profited  by 
similar  liberality.     That  uncompromising  old  Confederate  and 


180  Bishops  of  I^orth  Caeolina. 

Calvinist,  General  Daniel  Harvey  Hill,  wlien  addressing  a 
Baltimore  audience  some  years  after  the  war  and  alluding  to 
the  generosity  formerly  displayed  by  residents  of  that  place 
toward  more  Southern  localities,  said:  "It  was  at  this  time, 
when  our  whole  people  were  shrouded  with  a  pall  of  gloom  and 
anguish,  and  absolute  starvation  was  imminent  in  many  places, 
that  the  generous  heart  of  your  city  throbbed  with  one  simul- 
taneous pulsation  of  pity.  Then  both  sexes,  all  classes  and 
conditions,  friends  and  foes  alike,  forgetting  political  and  sec- 
tional differences,  vied  with  one  another  in  sending  relief  to  the 
afflicted  South.  In  the  name  of  my  countrymen,  thus  rescued 
from  despair  and  death,  I  invoke  the  blessings  of  Almighty  God 
upon  the  heads  of  their  deliverers,  whatever  be  their  religious 
creed  or  political  faith;  whatever  be  the  skies  of  their  nativity, 
or  their  opinion  of  the  righteousness  or  unrighteousness  of  the 
Southern  cause." 

Just  prior  to  the  war,  the  Church  Intelligencer,  a  religious 
newspaper,  had  been  established  in  Raleigh  by  the  Reverend 
Messrs.  Thomas  S.  W.  Mott  and  Frederick  Fitz  Gerald,  making 
its  first  appearance  on  March  14,  1860.  Later,  upon  the  ap- 
pointment of  Mr.  Fitz  Gerald  as  Chaplain  in  the  Confederate 
Army,  Mr.  Mott  conducted  the  publication  alone  till  the  Spring 
of  1864.  In  the  Fall  of  1864,  it  was  removed  to  Charlotte,  and 
there  editdd  by  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Fordyce  M.  Hubbard  and 
George  M.  Everhart,  who  jointly  had  charge  until  April,  1866, 
when  Mr.  Everhart  retired,  leaving  Doctor  Hubbard  as  sole 
editor.  The  latter  continued  it  a  few  years  longer  and  then  it 
was  forced  to  suspend.  More  than  ten  years  later  (May  10, 
1879),  the  Fteverend  William  S.  Bynum  began  the  publication 
of  the  Church  Messenger  in  Winston-Salem.  He  edited  it  some 
months,  and,  in  July,  1880,  it  was  placed  under  a  board  of  edi- 
tors, consisting  of  several  clergymen;  but  a  few  weeks  there- 
after (August  24,  1880),  the  Reverend  Charles  J.  Curtis  be- 
came editor  and  remained  in  charge  of  it  until  1882,  if  not  later. 
It,  too,  finally  passed  out  of  existence.    Later  a  monthly  publi- 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  181 

cation  called  the  Messenger  of  Hope  was  issued  at  the  Thompson 
Orphanage  in  Charlotte.  The  last  mentioned  publication  be- 
gan its  career  toward  the  end  of  the  year  1887,  with  the  Rev- 
erend Edwin  A.  Osborne  (then  superintendent  of  the  orphanage) 
as  editor.  During  the  years  1893  and  1894,  the  Reverend  Scott 
B.  Rathbun  was  editor;  and,  after  his  retirement,  Mr.  Osborne 
again  took  charge.  In  June,  1898,  when  Mr.  Osborne  left  the 
orphanage  to  become  Chaplain  of  the  Second  Xorth  Carolina 
Regiment  of  United  States  Volunteers  in  the  "War  with.  Spain, 
the  Reverend  Walter  J.  Smith  succeeded  him  as  editor  of  the 
Messenger  of  Hope,  as  well  as  superintendent  of  the  institution 
where  it  was  published,  and  filled  both  stations  for  many  years. 
During  the  session  of  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  North 
Carolina  in  1909,  the  Reverend  Alfred  R.  Berkeley  offered  a 
resolution  (it  being  a  substitute  for  one  theretofore  presented 
by  a  committee)  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  special 
committee,  to  confer  with  similar  committees  from  the  Diocese 
of  East  Carolina  and  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  Asheville, 
whose  duty  it  should  be  to  take  under  advisement  the  desir- 
ability of  having  one  Church  paper  for  both  dioceses  and  the 
Jurisdiction  of  Asheville.  The  committees  were  accordingly  ap- 
pointed; and  under  their  recommendation  the  Messenger  of  Hope 
(North  Carolina)  and  the  Mission  Herald  (East  Carolina)  were 
consolidated  under  the  name  and  title  of  the  Carolina  Church- 
man, with  the  Reverend  Thomas  P.  Noe,  of  Wilmington,  as 
editor-in-chief.  The  Carolina  Churchman  made  its  first  appear- 
ance in  October,  1909.  This  consolidation  of  papers  occurred  at 
a  later  date  than  the  time  when  the  present  history  professes  to 
end,  but  the  importance  of  the  matter  may  justify  this  addi- 
tional paragraph  on  the  subject. 

In  the  six  years  immediately  following  the  war,  the  Church 
in  North  Carolina  lost  by  death  a  number  of  her  leading  lay- 
men, among  these  being  George  E.  Badger  (May  11,  1866), 
for  many  years  a  vestryman  of  Christ  Church  at  Raleigh,  and 
formerly  Judge,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  United  States  Sen- 


182  Bishops  of  ]^orth  Carolina. 

ator,  whose  reply  to  tlie  pro-Roman  pronouncements  of  Bishop 
Ives  has  already  been  mentioned.  Another  "shining  mark" 
struck  by  the  arrow  of  death  (January  15,  1870)  was  Thomas 
Ruffin,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina, a  jurist  of  national  reputation,  and  a  vestryman  of  Saint 
Matthew's  Church  at  Hillsborough.  Of  these  two  profound 
lawyers  and  devoted  Churchmen  it  is  needless  here  to  speak,  as 
their  records  are  written  in  the  history  of  the  State  and  Nation. 
Yet  one  there  was — more  incessant  in  his  labors  for  the  Church 
than  both — who  died  during  the  same  period  (January  8,  1868), 
and  of  whom  a  few  w^ords  may  well  be  said,  as  he  never  sought 
political  honors,  and  is  not  so  well  known  to  the  present  gen- 
eration. This  was  Charles  T.  Haigh,  of  Fayetteville.  He 
had  been  a  communicant  of  Saint  John's  Church,  in  that  town, 
for  nearly  fifty  years.  As  early  as  1836,  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Committee  on  Missions,  and  (with  one  year's  inter- 
mission) served  thereon  until  his  death.  For  many  years  he 
was  also  treasurer  of  the  Diocese.  The  Diocesan  Convention 
of  1868  passed  formal  resolutions  in  honor  of  his  memory,  and 
Bishop  Atkinson  (addressing  that  assemblage)  said  of  tlie  de- 
ceased: "A  better  officer  could  nov/here  be  found,  and  a  better 
man  scarcely,  if  at  all.  He  was  an  excellent  specimen  of  that 
type  of  human  character  which  mankind  everywhere  respects, 
and  which  certainly  seems  to  me  deserving  of  great  respect,  the 
high-toned  English  gentleman — for  he  was  thoroughly  English, 
not  only  in  birth  and  education,  but  in  taste  and  sympathy,  and 
in  the  best  characteristics  of  that  people."  A  few  years  after 
Mr.  Haigh's  death,  another  veteran  member  was  lost  to  the 
Church  when  George  W.  Mordecai,  for  many  years  senior  war- 
den of  Christ  Church  in  Raleigh,  passed  away  on  the  19th  of 
February,  1871.  Of  the  latter  gentleman  Bishop  Atkinson  said : 
"He  often  took  part  in  the  proceedings  of  this  Convention, 
where  no  one  was  listened  to  with  more  respect;  he  was,  since 
I  have  known  this  Diocese,  one  of  its  Trustees,  a  leading  mem- 
ber of  its  Standing  Committee,  one  of  the  most  active,  liberal 


HiSIIOI'S   UK    NoKTII    ('.VKOLINA.  183 

and  judicious  vcstrvnieu  of  his  own  important  parish,  a  wise 
and  judicious  counsellor  to  lue  in  my  official  character,  and  the 
friend  under  whose  hospitahle  roof  I  mainly  spent  my  time  when 
at  Raleigh.*' 

As  heretofore  shown  in  these  pages,  the  Church  had  labored 
with  commendable  zeal  to  improve  the  religious  condition  of 
slaves  in  ante-hellum  times;  and,  after  the  war,  under  condi- 
tions in  some  respects  less  favorable,  the  work  was  still  main- 
tained. Owing  to  the  evils  of  carpet-bag  rule — when  self-inter- 
ested adventurers  came  South,  advocating  social  equality  and 
seeking  to  inflame  the  negroes  against  their  late  masters  and 
best  friends — the  work  was  much  retarded,  yet  even  then  pro- 
gressed to  a  considerable  extent.  In  addressing  the  first  Dio- 
cesan Convention  which  assembled  after  the  close  of  the  war. 
Bishop  Atkinson  referred  to  the  old  and  new  i-elations  existing 
between  the  races  in  these  words:  "One  of  the  chief  cares  and 
labors  of  a  good  many  men,  and  of  a  still  larger  number  of  the 
women,  of  the  South,  was  the  welfare  of  the  servants;  and, 
under  the  system  of  slavery  in  these  States,  the  African  race 
made  a  progress,  during  the  last  hundred  years,  not  only  in 
numbers  and  physical  comfort,  but  a  progress  from  barbarism 
to  civilization,  from  heathenism  to  Christianity,  to  which  the 
history  of  the  world  offers  no  parallel.  But  the  system  was  no 
doubt  defective — better  adapted  to  the  early  stage  of  a  people's 
progress  from  the  savage  state  than  that  which  they  have  now 
reached;  at  any  rate  God,  in  his  providence,  has  definitely  set 
it  aside.  The  future  of  that  people  is  very  obscure;  and  there 
is,  in  the  judgment  of  many,  great  danger  even  of  their  extinc- 
tion as  a  race.  What,  then,  must  we  do  as  Christian  men  and 
women  ?  We  must  continue  our  care  for  them ;  we  ought  even 
to  increase  it.  We  have  surely  been,  in  some  degree,  delinquent 
in  the  past ;  let  us  resolve,  in  God's  strength,  not  to  be  so  for 
the  future."  Referring  to  the  same  race,  later  on  in  this  ad- 
dress, the  Bishop  says:    "We  must  keep  in  mind  their  general 


184  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

faithfulness  in  the  hour  of  trial.  We  must  allow  for  occasional 
instances  of  what  seems  to  us  folly,  or  perversity,  or  ingratitude. 
"We  must  practice  towards  them  the  apostolical  injunctions 
which  are  so  strikingly  enjoined,  'be  pitiful,  be  courteous.' 
Their  distresses,  in  their  new  condition,  are  likely  to  be  many 
and  great.  Let  us  be  ready  to  relieve  them  accordingly  as 
God  has  given  us  the  means.  They  are,  as  a  race,  peculiarly 
sensible  of  courtesy,  or  the  absence  of  it.  They  show  it  abimd- 
antly  themselves,  and  they  are  very  much  wounded  when  it  is 
denied  to  them.  They  feel  contempt  or  rudeness  more  than  a 
serious  injury.  Let  us  inflict  none  of  these  on  them.  Let  us 
make  them  feel  what  is,  I  believe,  most  true — that  their  best 
friends  are  among  ourselves,  and  that  to  us  they  must  look  for 
counsel,  and  aid,  and  protection.  But,  above  all,  let  us  remem- 
ber that  part  of  our  duty  in  which,  I  fear,  we  have  been  most 
deficient — providing  for  them  sound  religious  instruction.  They 
are  in  great  danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  mischievous 
and,  sometimes,  no  doubt,  malevolent  fanatics,  which  would  be 
a  great  calamity  to  them  as  well  as  to  us.  Let  us  endeavor  to 
avert  it  by  doing  what  is  at  any  rate  our  duty — by  giving  them 
the  true  doctrine  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  view  of  the  vain 
j anglings  of  false  teachers.  Let  us  raise  up  colored  congrega- 
tions in  our  towns,  and  let  our  clergy  feel  that  one  important 
part  of  their  charge  is  to  teach  and  to  befriend  the  colored 
people;  and  especially  to  train,  as  far  as  they  are  permitted  to 
do  so,  the  children  of  that  race." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  nobler  utterances  than  those 
above  quoted,  or  ones  better  calculated  to  promote  kind  feelings 
between  the  races.  And,  while  the  good  Bishop  thus  preached 
love  and  forbearance,  he  also  realized  that  mixed  congregations 
were  not  to  be  considered,  whatever  might  be  the  views  of  "mis- 
chievous and  malevolent  fanatics"  on  the  subject.  He  not  only 
favored  separate  churches  for  the  negroes,  as  indicated  above, 
but,  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1866,  he  recommended  that 
these    congregations    should    be    placed    under    well-instructed 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  185 

clergymen  of  their  own  race  whenever  possible.  As  to  the  edu- 
cation of  the  newly  freed  race,  he  said :  "The  practical  ques- 
tion is  not  whether  they  shall  be  taught,  but  hy  whom  they  shall 
be  taught.  Teachers  they  have  already,  and  will  continue  to 
have.  Shall  they  be  such  as  will  impart  sound  instruction,  and 
be  under  our  own  direction,  or  shall  they  be  such  as  chance  or 
fanaticism  may  send?  Who  can  doubt  what  should  be  our 
course  in  this  respect,  whether  we  regard  the  claims  of  duty  or 
wisdom.''  Of  the  effect  which  he  believed  education  would  have, 
in  a  spiritual  way,  he  further  said:  "The  Word  of  God  was 
written  in  order  that  it  may  be  read;  and  to  say,  either  by  our 
action  or  by  our  refusal  to  act,  that  a  large  class  of  the  com- 
munity shall  not  read  it,  seems  very  like  profanity.  If  read, 
it  should  be,  as  far  as  possible,  with  the  commentary  which 
the  Creeds  and  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  give,  securing  it 
thereby  from  the  fatal  misinterpretations  which  ignorant  and 
fanatical  persons  attach  to  it." 

The  above  recommendations  in  the  Bishop's  address  were  re- 
ferred to  a  special  committee  consisting  of  the  Beverend  Fordyce 
M.  Hubbard,  the  Reverend  N.  Collin  Hughes,  Sr.,  the  Beverend 
William  C.  Hunter  and  the  Beverend  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire, 
Sr.,  of  the  clergy,  together  with  Mr.  George  W.  Mordecai,  Gen- 
eral William  B.  Cox,  and  Mr.  John  H.  Haughton,  of  the  laity. 
This  committee,  after  taking  the  matter  into  consideration, 
made  their  recommendations  in  a  series  of  resolutions  (duly 
adopted  by  the  Convention)  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  comnieud  the  people  of  color  to 
the  continued  kindness  and  good  will  of  the  churchmen  of  this  Dio- 
cese; 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Convention  that  separate 
houses  of  worship  should  be  provided,  as  soon  as  practicable,  for  the 
colored  people ;  that  there  should  be  separate  Sunday-Schools  and 
separate  congregations  for  them ;  and  that  the  attention  of  the  Clergy 
of  this  Diocese  be  directed  to  the  importance  of  seeking  out  suitable 
colored  men  for  Catechists,  Sunday-School  teachers,  aud  Lay  Readers ; 
and  giving  them,  as  far  as  they  may,  personal  instruction  to  fit  them 
for  these  positions,  in  the  hope  that,  under  God's  providence,  many  of 


186  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

them  Diay  be  ultimately  qualified  to  become  the  spiritual  teachers  and 
pastors  of  their  race ; 

"Resolved,  That  we  heartily  approve  and  earnestly  reebmmend  the 
mental  and  moral  training  of  the  colored  people  in  such  a  manner  and 
to  such  degree  as  the  conditions  of  affairs  may  justify." 

In  1868,  Bishop  Atkinson  announced  that  a  normal  and  train- 
ing school,  for  the  education  and  instruction  of  colored  teachers 
and  ministers,  had  heen  established  near  Raleigh,  under  the 
superintendence  of  the  Reverend  J.  Brinton  Smith,  D.D.  The 
institution  here  alluded  to — Saint  Augustine's  School — has  been 
a  strong  factor  in  the  betterment  of  the  race  for  which  it  was 
established.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  heads  of  this  institu- 
tion have  all  been  white  clergymen  of  the  Church.  After  the 
death  of  Doctor  Smith,  in  1872,  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev- 
erend John  E.  C.  Smedes,  a  gentleman  of  fine  scholarship  and 
many  lovable  qualities.  The  latter  gave  place,  in  1884,  to  the 
Reverend  Robert  B.  Sutton,  who  served  acceptably  some  years 
and  then  resigned  his  charge,  owing  to  the  infirmities  of  age. 
In  1891  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend  A.  Burtis  Hunter, 
whose  personal  worth  and  administrative  ability  are  still  demon- 
strated in  the  management  of  that  excellent  institution.  One  of 
the  features  of  instruction  at  Saint  Augustine's  is  of  an  indus- 
trial nature,  among  the  courses  there  taught  (in  addition  to 
religious  and  scholastic  training)  being  improved  agriculture, 
dairying,  carpentry,  brick-making,  stone-masonry,  weaving, 
dress-making,  laundry  work,  cooking,  etc.  Many  of  the  build- 
ings on  the  premises,  including  Saint  Augustine's  Chapel,  Saint 
Agnes  Hospital,  and  the  Benson  Library,  were  erected  by  stu- 
dents out  of  granite  which  they  themselves  quarried.  In  connec- 
tion with  the  hospital  is  also  a  school  for  training  nurses  which 
is  doing  good  work. 

In  1866,  owing  to  ill  health,  Bishop  Atkinson  spent  six 
months  in  Europe,  reaching  England  in  June,  and  returning 
to  America  in  December.  He  was  accompanied  on  this  tour 
by  Mrs.  Atkinson.  In  all  places  visited  by  him  he  was  received 
with  the  high  consideration  due  his  office.     Before  taking  leave 


Bishops  of  T'n'ortii  Carolina.  187 

of  ^'orth  ( 'arolina,  ho  addressed  a  eoininunicatioii  1o  the  Dio- 
cesan Oonvcntion,  asking  it  to  take  nnder  consideration  the 
advisability  of  electing  an  Assistant  Bishop,  or  dividing  North 
Carolina  into  tAvo  Dioceses,  but  neither  of  these  measures  was 
adopted  at  that  time.  In  the  matter  of  the  proposed  election 
of  an  Assistant  Bishop,  the  Diocesan  Convention  which  as- 
sembled at  New  Bern,  May  30th-June  4,  1866,  decided  to  have 
such  an  election,  and  adjourned  to  meet  in  special  session  at 
Goldsborough  in  The  following  November.  Before  November 
came,  however,  a  letter  was  received  from  Bishop  Atkinson — 
then  in  England — stating  that  he  had  so  far  recovered  his 
health  and  vigor  as  to  render  the  election  of  an  Assistant  Bishop 
unnecessary.  In  consequence  of  this  turn  of  affairs,  the  special 
meeting  at  Goldsborough  was  not  held,  and  it  was  seven  years 
before  an  Assistant  Bishop  was  elected. 

As  already  stated,  Bishop  Atkinson  was  the  recipient  of 
many  tokens  of  consideration  while  abroad.  Almost  immedi- 
ately upon  his  arrival  in  Europe,  a  communication  Avas  ad- 
dressed to  him  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Primate  of 
All  England,  inviting  him  to  take  part  in  the  consecration  of 
some  Colonial  Bishops  of  the  Anglican  Church.  This  he  could 
not  do,  being  in  Paris  Avhen  the  consecration  took  place,  but  a 
similar  invitation  was  later  accepted  by  another  American 
Bishop,  then  in  Europe,  the  Right  Reverend  Henry  John  White- 
house,  of  Illinois. 

During  Bishop  Atkinson's  European  tour  in  1866,  he  at- 
tended (in  October  of  that  year)  a  congress  of  the  Anglican 
Church,  at  York,  among  other  Americans  present  being  Bishops 
Whitehouse,  of  Illinois,  and  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania.  Bishop 
Atkinson  was  also  present  when  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
laid  the  corner-stone  of  the  Cathedral  at  Inverness,  and  thereby 
"visibly  sealed  the  closer  union  betAveen  the  powerful  and  pros- 
perous Church  of  England  and  its  long  oppressed  sister  in 
Scotland." 


188  Bishops  of  ISTokth  Carolina. 

While  Bishop  Atkinson  was  in  Europe,  Bishop  Green,  of 
Mississippi,  who  was  a  native  of  Wilmington,  confirmed  a  few 
persons  while  visiting  his  old  home;  and  Bishop  Atkinson  him- 
self, while  stopping  in  Baltimore,  administered  the  same  rite  to 
upwards  of  thirty,  loj  request  of  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

It  was  on  Christmas  Eve,  1866,  that  Bishop  Atkinson  again 
reached  his  home  in  Wilmington,  on  his  return  from  Europe. 
In  addressing  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1867,  he  once  more 
discussed  the  election  of  an  Assistant  Bishop.  Should  it  turn  out 
that  the  Diocese  could  not  support  two  Bishops,  and  it  should 
be  thought  expedient  that  a  younger  man  should  fill  the  Episco- 
pate in  E"orth  Carolina,  Bishop  Atkinson  expressed  a  willing- 
ness to  resigTi.  Of  the  latter  step  he  said  that — while  he  had 
been  assured  that  this  would  be  painful  to  the  Diocese,  and 
though  it  would  certainly  be  so  to  himself  personally — he  was 
willing  to  make  the  sacrifice  if  the  interests  of  the  Church  de- 
manded it.  A  sacrifice  it  would  indeed  have  been  thus  to  re- 
sign, for  Bishop  Atkinson  was  not  a  man  of  large  means.  The 
committee  to  which  the  address  was  referred  unanimously  re- 
ported that  it  could  not  entertain  for  a  moment  such  a  propo- 
sition. The  report  also  said  that  a  separate  Diocese  could  not 
then  be  set  up,  as  a  canon  of  the  American  Church  required 
each  new  diocese  to  contain  a  certain  number  of  self-supporting 
parishes.  In  this  report,  the  committee  expressed  the  opinion 
that  an  Assistant  Bishop  should  be  chosen  so  soon  as  provision 
could  be  made  for  his  support. 

In  September,  1867,  there  was  held  in  Lambeth  Palace,  the 
seat  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  a  Council  of  Bishops  of 
the  Anglican  Church  throughout  the  world.  At  the  request  of 
his  Diocesan  Convention,  Bishop  Atkinson  attended  the  deliber- 
ations of  that  august  assemblage,  leaving  America  in  the  Sum- 
mer and  returning  in  December.  Speaking  of  the  personnel 
of  this  great  body  of  Church  dignitaries,  he  later  said:  "The 
Catholic  character  of  the  Church — its  adaptation  to  all  sorts 
and  conditions   of  men — was   made  strikingly  manifest   when 


Bishops  of  x^ortii  Carolina.  189 

one  looked  ai-ound  him  and  saw  in  what  mutually  remote  quar- 
ters of  the  earth,  in  what  different  states  of  intelligence  and 
civilization,  amid  what  varied  races  those  men  lived  and  labored, 
who  met  together  for  the  first  time  in  those  ancient  halls  at 
Lambeth  to  consult  how  they  might  best  advance  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.  There  Avere  those  present  who  Avere  spending  their 
strength  and  periling  their  lives  among  the  most  degraded 
heathen  tribes  of  Africa;  others  from  among  the  savages  of 
Borneo;  others  accv^s{omed  to  the  political  turmoils  of  the 
democracy  of  America;  while  others,  again,  sat  in  the  front 
ranks  of  the  peers  of  England.  Some  Avere  of  world-wide  repu- 
tation as  theologians;  some  Avere  eminent  for  historical  re- 
search; and  some  distinguished  for  brilliant  eloquence.  But 
all  were  agreed  in  accepting  for  their  OAvn  guidance,  and  for 
the  instruction  of  others,  that  doctrine  of  Christ  Avhich  is  plainly 
taught  in  Holy  Scripture  and  was  belicA^ed  by  the  early  Church." 

The  above  v/as  the  first  of  the  great  Lambeth  Conferences, 
which  are  noAv  held  about  every  ten  years.  Another  assemblage, 
organized  in  1908,  and  with  a  time  of  meeting  very  close  ro 
that  of  the  Lambeth  Conference,  is  knoAvn  as  the  Pan-Anglican 
Congress.  The  latter  body  is  not  only  composed  of  Bishops 
and  other  clergy,  but  also  of  the  laity — men  and  women  alike. 

After  the  close  of  Bishop  Atkinson's  duties  in  connection 
Avith  the  Lambeth  Conference  of  1867,  two  of  his  former  parish- 
ioners from  Baltimore  urged  him  to  spend  the  Winter  as  their 
guest  in  Italy,  but  a  sense  of  duty  to  his  Diocese  forced  him 
to  decline. 

To  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  ISTorth  Carolina  in  1868, 
Bishop  Atkinson  again  recommended  the  election  of  an  Assist- 
ant Bishop;  and,  as  an  appendix  to  the  Convention  Journal 
for  that  year,  there  was  a  lengthy  report  on  the  subject  of 
Bishops  of  the  different  classes,  as  recognized  by  usages  in  the 
Christian  Church  from  the  earliest  times  down  to  the  period 
immediately  following  the  foundation  of  the  Episcopate  in 
America.    In  conclusion  this  report  said  that,  Avhile  the  Church 


190  Bishops  of  T^orth  Cakolina. 

was  now  ill  need  of  more  Bishops,  the  number  could  not  then 
be  increased  in  JSTorth  Carolina  without  an  amendment  of  ex- 
isting canons  by  the  General  Convention.  The  committee  mak- 
ing this  report  was  composed  of  the  Rererend  Messrs.  Alfred 
A.  Watson,  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Sr.,  and  Benjamin  S. 
Bronson  from  the  clergy;  and,  from  the  laity,  Armand  J.  De- 
Rosset,  M.D.,  and  Mr.  Eichard  H.  Smith.  At  the  Diocesan 
Convention  of  1871  there  was  submitted  a  committee  report 
asking  that  the  General  Convention  be  memorialized  to  au- 
thorize the  election  of  Suffragan  Bishops.  This  report  also 
learnedly  dealt  with  precedent  and  usage  concerning  the  Episco- 
pate in  the  earlier  days  of  the  Church.  The  committee  which 
prepared  it  consisted  of  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Benjamin  S. 
Bronson,  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Sr.,  and  Edward  M.  Forbes, 
with  two  laymen,  General  James  G.  Martin  and  Mr.  Richard 
H.  Smith.  When  the  next  General  Convention  met,  it  refused 
to  authorize  the  election  of  Suffragan  Bishops,  but  provided 
that  an  Assistant  Bishop  might  be  elected  in  any  Diocese  whose 
extent  of  territory  made  it  impracticable  for  one  Bishop  ade- 
quately to  perform  the  duties  of  the  Episcopate  therein.  Under 
the  authority  thus  conferred,  the  Diocesan  Convention,  at  Fay- 
etteville  on  May  30,  1873,  elected  the  Reverend  Theodore  Bene- 
dict Lyman,  D.D.,  to  the  office  of  Assistant  Bishop.  Of  Bishop 
Lyman  a  separate  sketch  will  later  be  given  herein. 

At  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1874,  the  Reverend  Angelo 
A.  Benton  submitted  a  list  of  the  old  colonial  parishes  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  JSTorth  Carolina;  and  the  result  of  his 
researches  (compiled  from  legislative  statutes)  was  printed 
in  the  Convention  journal  for  that  year.  At  the  same  time  a 
committee  was  appointed  consisting  of  the  Reverend  Matthias 
M.  Marshall,  the  Reverend  Edward  R.  Rich  and  the  Honorable 
William  H.  Battle,  LL.D.,  and  charged  with  the  duty  of  collect- 
ing "as  much  of  the  colonial  history  in  reference  to  the  Church 
in  this  Diocese  as  possible,  and  the  date  of  the  organization  of 
the  older  parishes,  and  make  a  report  to  the  next  convention 


Bishops  of  Noinir  (\\i{oi,ina.  191 

of  a  list  of  parishes  in  the  order  of  ilieir  orgjuiization."  The 
same  laymau  who  moved  the  appointment  of  this  committee, 
Colonel  Sewall  L.  Fremont,  of  Wilmington,  later  moved  (mo- 
tion being  carried)  that  the  above  committee  "be  reqnested  to 
ascei-tain  the  date  of  the  admission  of  the  several  existing 
parishes  to  representation  in  the  Convention  of  this  Diocese, 
and  report  the  list,  in  the  order  of  their  seniority,  to  the  next 
Convention."  The  report  of  the  latter  committee,  through  its 
chairman.  Doctor  Marshall,  will  be  found  in  the  journal  of 
the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1877.  In  the  same  report  is  a 
recommendation  that  the  office  of  Historiographer  be  created. 
This  recommendation  being  adopted,  Doctor  Marshall  was 
unanimously  elected  Historiographer  of  the  Diocese,  and  re- 
mained in  that  office  until  May  14,  1884,  when  he  declined  re- 
election and  was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend  Joseph  Blount 
Cheshire,  Jr.  After  the  latter  became  Bishop,  the  Honorable 
John  Steele  Henderson,  LL.D.,  was  elected  Historiographer. 
Mr.  Henderson  held  this  position  until  May  13,  1909,  when  he 
asked  to  be  relieved  from  further  service  and  was  succeeded  by 
Marshall  DeLancey  Ha3a\'ood,  author  of  the  present  work. 

A  resolution  was  passed  by  the  Diocesan  Convention,  in  1877, 
making  it  the  duty  of  the  Rector  of  each  parish  throughout  the 
Diocese  to  write  or  cause  to  be  written  a  history  of  his  parish 
for  preservation  in  the  archives  of  the  Diocese.  To  the  Con- 
vention of  1878  Doctor  Marshall  reported  a  list  of  the  parish 
histories  which  had  been  forwarded  to  him,  up  to  that  date, 
together  with  others  which  had  been  promised.  These  histories, 
together  Avith  the  ones  later  sent  in,  form  a  valuable  manuscript 
collection.  When  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina  was  established, 
all  parish  histories  dealing  with  churches  in  that  section  were 
turned  over  to  its  Historiographer,  Colonel  James  G.  Burr. 

Some  brief  histories,  relative  to  parishes  in  the  three  dioceses 
throughout  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  have  already  been 
published  in  pamphlet  form  or  as  articles  in  periodicals,  and 
among  them  we  may  mention  the  following : 


192  Bishops  of  ITorth  Carolina. 

Historical  Notices  of  St.  James'  Parish,  Wilmington,  North 
Carolina,  by  the  Eeverend  Eobert  Brent  Drane,  of  Wilming- 
ton, 1843. 

Sketch  of  St.  James's  Parish,  Wilmington,  being  the  com- 
pletion of  the  above  mentioned  work  of  Doctor  Drane,  by  a 
member  of  the  vestry  (Colonel  James  G.  Burr),  pamphlet  1874, 
and  re-published  serially  in  the  Church  Messenger  (Charlotte, 
]N"orth  Carolina),  March  31st-May  16th,  and  addenda,  June 
30,  1881. 

Early  Church  in  North  Carolina,  written  by  the  Reverend 
Eobert  Johnstone  Miller  in  1830,  and  published  in  the  Church 
Messenger,  October  15,  1880. 

An  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Church  in  Edgecombe  County, 
by  the  Eeverend  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.,  but  published 
anonymously.  Church  Messenger,  August  31st-September  21st, 
1880. 

A  Visit  to  Old  Brunswick  and.  the  Ruins  of  St.  Philip' fi 
Church,  by  Colonel  James  G.  Burr,  Church  Messenger,  Sep- 
tember 28,  1880. 

St.  Philip's  Parish,  Smithville,*  by  the  Eeverend  Eobert  B. 
Windley,  Church  Messenger,  January  13th-20th,  1881. 

St.  John's  Parish,  Wilmington  (anonymous),  Church  Mes- 
senger, July  7,  1881. 

St.  Paul's  Parish,  Wilmington,  by  the  Eeverend  Thomas  M. 
Ambler,  Church  Messenger,  July  14,  1881, 

St.  Mark's  Church,  Wilmington  (a  parish  made  up  of  ne- 
groes), by  the  Eeverend  Charles  O.  Brady,  Church  Messenger, 
July  21,  1881. 

Christ  Church,  Rowan  County  (anonymous),  Church  Mes- 
senger, August  4th-August  11th,  1881. 

Episcopacy  in  Rowan  County,  by  the  Honorable  John  Steele 
Henderson,  in  Rumple's  History  of  Rowan  County,  1881,  pages 
378-435. 

*  Smithville,  near  the  mouth  of  Cape  Pear  River,  is  now  called 
Southport. 


Bishops  of  Nouth  Cakolina.  193 

St.  James's  Church.  Iredell  County — formerly  Mills  Settle- 
ment and  still  earlier  a  part  of  St.  Mark's  Parish — (anony- 
mous), Church  Messenger,  August  18,   1881. 

Si.  Paul's  Church,  Edenton,  by  the  Reverend  Charles  M. 
Parkman,  Church  Messenger,  September  22d-October  6th,  1881. 

St.  Thomas  Church,  Bath,  by  the  Reverend  Horace  G.  Hilton, 
Church  Messenger,  November  17,  1881, 

A  Sermon- Sic  etch  of  the  History  of  St.  Mattheiu's  Parish, 
Hillsboro,  by  the  Reverend  Joseph  W.  Murphy,  delivered  Oc- 
tober 5,  1890,  and  published  in  pamphlet  1900. 

Religious  and  Historic  Commemoration  of  the  Two  Hundred 
Years  of  St.  Paul's  Parish,  Edenton,  May  22d-May  24th,  1901, 
containing  sermon  by  Bishop  Watson,  of  East  Carolina,  and 
addresses  by  Richard  Dillard,  M.D.,  Mr.  James  R.  B.  Hath- 
away, the  Reverend  Francis  W.  Hilliard,  the  Reverend  Charles 
A.  Maison,  and  the  Reverend  Thomas  M.  IST.   George. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Edenton,  by  Richard  Dillard,  M.D.,  North 
Carolina  BooJclet,  July,  1905. 

St.  Thomas's  Church,  Bath — St.  Paul's  Church,  Edenton, 
North  Carolina,  by  the  Reverend  Robert  Brent  Drane,  D.D., 
in  volume  entitled  Colonial  Churches  in  the  Original  Colony 
of  Virginia. 

On  April  25,  1877,  occurred  the  death  of  the  Reverend  Aldert 
Smedes,  D.D.,  founder  and  for  thirty-five  years  the  honored 
Rector  of  Saint  Mary's  School  at  Raleigh.  In  the  year  1873, 
Bishop  Atkinson  had  said  of  him,  in  an  address  to  the  Diocesan 
Convention :  "If  I  were  called  upon  to  say  what  individual 
has  exerted  for  many  years,  and  is  now  exerting,  the  most  bene- 
ficial influence  upon  the  people  of  this  State,  I  should  feel  bound 
to  express  the  conviction  that  it  is  not  this  or  that  statesman, 
or  this  or  that  soldier,  or  this  or  that  preacher,  but  the  man 
who  has  successfully  trained  up  so  many  maidens  and  so  many 
matrons  to  be  themselves  useful  and  happy  in  their  respective 
spheres  and  to  diffuse  around  them  the  incalculable  benefit  of 
womanly  intelligence,  refinement  and  piety.     While  many  ex- 


11)4  Bishops  of  T^okth  Carolina. 

cellent  persons  have  labored  for  this  end,  and  with  gratifying 
success,  he  who,  in  my  judgment  at  least,  has  accomplished  the 
most,  is  the  Principal  of  St.  Mary's  School,  Raleigh."  At  the 
time  of  the  death  of  Doctor  Smedes  a  tribute  was  paid  his 
memory  by  the  Bishop  in  these  words :  "I  take  this  occasion 
to  express  publicly,  as  my  deliberate  judgment,  that  Dr.  Smedes 
accomplished  more  for  the  advancement  of  the  Church  in  this 
Diocese,  and  for  the  promotion  of  the  best  interests  of  society 
within  its  limits,  than  any  other  man  wbo  ever  lived  in  it. 
Under  his  care,  and  very  much  as  the  result  of  his  intelligence, 
his  firmness  and  his  tender  affection  for  them,  there  went  out 
from  St.  Mary's  School,  Raleigh,  every  year  a  number  of  young 
girls  who,  in  culture,  in  refinement,  and  still  more  in  elevation 
of  moral  and  religious  character,  would  compare  favorably  with 
the  pupils  of  any  other  institution  in  this  country.  He  knew 
not  o:dy  how  to  teach,  but  how  to  govern,  and  to  make  himself 
honored  as  well  as  loved;  and  to  constrain  his  pupils  to  feel 
that  the  years  spent  under  his  care  Avere  at  the  same  time  the 
happiest  and  most  useful  of  their  lives.  He  has  gone  to  his 
reward,  but  his  work  remains,  and  will  remain  from  generation 
to  generation." 

When  Doctor  Smedes  died,  the  great  work  in  which  he  had 
been  engaged  was  taken  up  by  his  son,  the  Reverend  Bennett 
Smedes,  D.D.,  who  had  been  Assistant  Rector  for  some  years. 
The  whole  of  the  latter  gentleman's  life  was  one  of  devoted  self- 
sacrifice  to  the  interests  of  religious  education.  Under  adverse 
conditions  he  maintained  Saint  Mary's  until  his  death,  February 
22,  1899,  expending  his  private  fortune  in  keeping  up  the  work 
rather  than  let  the  school  suspend  operations.  In  consequence 
of  these  unselfish  labors,  Saint  Mary's  was  held  until  a  time 
(just  before  his  death)  v/hen  it  was  purchased  by  the  Church 
and  placed  under  the  management  of  a  board  of  trustees  from 
all  three  dioceses  in  the  State  of  ISTorth  Carolina.  It  was  later 
also  made  the  diocesan  school  of  South  Carolina,  which  State 
likevdse  has  a  representation  in  its  board  of  irufc,tee3.    This  noble 


Hisiiin's  OK  Xoinii  (\\K(ii,ixA.  195 

institution  is  now  liee  from  iis  original  debt;  luid,  having  sur- 
vived the  vicissitudes  of  peace  and  war  throughout  so  many 
years,  without  interruption,  will  doubtless  hereafter  fully  meas- 
ure up  to  its  splendid  record  of  by-gone  times.  In  the  darkest 
days  of  the  War  between  the  States,  its  doors  were  never  closed; 
and,  at  one  time  during  that  period,  the  family  of  Jefferson 
Davis  found  shelter  within  its  walls,  as  did  also  one  of  the 
daughters  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee. 

Despite  the  Church's  ill  fortune  in  its  previous  efforts  toward 
establishing  schools  for  boys,  Bishop  Atkinson's  interest  in  this 
important  subject  never  abated,  "A  complete  education,''  said 
he,  "demands  the  cultivation  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  as  well 
as  the  intellectual  faculties,  and  it  is  one  of  the  functions  of  the 
Church  to  provide  this."  In  his  address  ta  the  Convention  of 
1874  he  speaks  of  efforts  by  the  Reverend  Benjamin  S.  Bronson 
to  conduct  a  school  at  Charlotte,  in  addition  to  performing  his 
duties  as  Rector  of  Saint  Peter's  Church  in  that  city.  This 
school  at  Charlotte  finally  suspended;  and,  at  a  later  period, 
Mr.  Bronson  agreed  to  have  the  property  fitted  up  for  use  as 
an  orphanage.  The  former  school  had  been  largely  established 
by  the  munificence  of  the  family  of  the  late  Lewis  Thompson, 
of  Bertie  County,  and  the  new  institution  was  called  the  Thomp- 
son Orphanage  as  a  memorial  to  him.  Its  doors  were  opened  on 
May  10,  1887,  with  the  Reverend  Edwin  A.  Osborne  as  super- 
intendent. The  latter  gentleman  had  been  Colonel  of  the  Fourth. 
North  Carolina  Regiment  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  his 
military'  spirit  was  again  awakened  when  the  War  with  Spain 
came  on,  so  he  resigned  his  superintendeucy  of  the  orphanage 
in  June,  1898,  to  become  Chaplain  of  the  Second  North  Caro- 
lina Regiment  of  United  States  Volunteers.  After  the  War 
with  Spain  closed  he  became  Archdeacon  of  the  Convocation 
of  Charlotte,  which  position  he  now  holds.  Upon  Mr.  Osborne's 
resignation,  as  above,  of  the  superintendeucy  of  the  Thompson 
Orphanage,  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Reverend  Walter  J,  Smith, 
present  incumbent.     Mr.   Smith  belongs  to  a  Halifax  County 


196  Bishops  of  JSTorth  Cakolina. 

family  noted  for  its  devotion  to  the  Churcli,  being  a  son  of 
"William  E.  Smitli,  one  of  the  three  brothers  whom  we  have 
heretofore  mentioned  in  the  sketch  of  Bishop  Ives.  The  Thomp- 
son Orphanage  has  done,  and  is  still  doing,  a  splendid  work  in 
shielding  little  children  from  want  and  ruin,  and  training  them 
up  for  respectable  stations  in  the  citizenship  of  their  coun- 
try. Two  other  worthy  institutions  of  the  Church  at  Charlotte 
are  Saint  Peter's  Hospital,  for  the  white  race,  and  the  Good 
Samaritan  Hospital,  for  negroes. 

A  special  committee  on  education,  at  the  Diocesan  Conven- 
tion of  1875,  reported  efforts,  which  had  been  made  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  to  establish  an  educational  institution  at  Morgan- 
ton,  in  the  mountain  section.  At  that  time  Bishop  Atkinson 
was  not  sufficiently  strong  to  supervise  work  so  far  from 
his  home,  and  requested  his  assistant  and  co-laborer.  Bishop 
Lyman,  to  interest  himself  in  the  educational  work  at  Morgan- 
ton.  The  Wilberforce  School — as  this  institution  was  called, 
in  honor  of  the  great  English  Bishop  of  that  name — proved  a 
failure,  despite  the  able  and  energetic  manner  in  which  Bishop 
Lyman  sought  to  uphold  it.  Some  further  mention  of  it  will 
be  made  in  the  sketch  of  Bishop  Lyman,  later  on  in  this  work. 

One  Church  school  for  boys  met  with  some  success  in  North 
Carolina  for  a  while,  though  not  with  so  great  a  measure  as  it 
deserved.  This  institution — located  in  what  is  now  the  Diocese 
of  East  Carolina — was  Trinity  School,  at  Chocowinity  in  the 
county  of  Beaufort,  not  far  from  "Washington,  the  county-seat. 
Its  founder  and  first  principal  was  the  Keverend  N".  Collin 
Hu.o'hes.  About  the  year  1850  he  established  a  parochial  school 
in  conjunction  with  Trinity  Parish,  and  it  was  operated  in  a 
house  built  for  its  use  by  the  vestry.  Good  schools  were  scarce 
in  that  day,  and  a  considerable  number  of  students  came  from 
other  counties.  Shortly  before  the  War  between  the  States  Mr. 
Hughes  went  to  Pittsboro,  and  then  Trinity  School  passed  into 
other  hands — suspending  work  during  the  progress  of  the  war. 
In  1866,  Mr.  Hughes   returned  to  Beaufort   County  and  en- 


Bishops  of  Xorth  C.srolina.  197 

deavored  to  re-open  the  school,  but  met  with  many  discourage- 
ments. Some  years  later,  in  1878,  his  son,  the  Reverend  N". 
Collin  Hughes,  Jr.,  joined  in  the  management  of  this  institution, 
afterwards  becoming  his  father's  successor  as  principal.  In- 
struction in  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  and  general  religious 
training  were  always  given  prominence  in  the  course  of  study 
at  Trinity;  and,  though  it  was  not  a  training  school  for  the 
ministry,  about  twenty  of  its  former  pupils  have  taken  holy 
orders.  The  enrollment  of  students  in  this  institution  was  never 
large,  but  its  influence  for  good  Avas  by  no  means  inconsiderable. 
In  1908  this  school  was  closed;  and,  during  the  same  year,  its 
principal,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hughes,  became  Archdeacon  of 
the  Convocation  of  Raleigh. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Bishop  Atkinson  steps  were  first  taken 
toward  dividing  the  Diocese  of  !N"orth  Carolina  by  the  erection 
of  a  part  of  the  State  into  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina;  but, 
as  this  proposed  measure  was  not  carried  out  until  two  years 
after  his  death,  we  shall  treat  of  that  subject  in  the  sketch  of 
Bishop  Lyman,  hereafter  to  be  given  in  this  work. 

Though  the  consecration  of  the  Reverend  Doctor  Lyman,  as 
Assistant  Bishop,  greatly  lightened  the  labors  of  the  venerable 
Bishop  Atkinson,  the  latter  continued  his  good  work  as  long  as 
strength  was  given  him  to  plead  with  mankind  for  a  fuller  reali- 
zation and  performance  of  their  duties  to  God.  When  the  Dio- 
cesan Convention  met  at  Winston,  in  Forsyth  County,  during 
the  month  of  May,  1880,  the  aged  prelate  was  too  infirm  to  at- 
tend its  sessions,  but  sent  his  annual  address  to  be  read  before 
that  body.  This  was  his  last  message  to  the  Church  in  North 
Carolina,  and  its  closing  words  dealt  with  a  phase  of  morality 
which  long  years  of  personal  observation  moved  him  to  empha- 
size for  the  good  of  his  people.  This  was  the  question  of  temper- 
ance. In  part  he  said:  "All  the  taxes,  of  which  our  people 
complain  so  much,  are  not  equal  to  a  tenth  part  of  the  burden 
they  impose  upon  themselves  by  the  use — frequently  the  ex- 
cessive use — of  intoxicating  liquors.  To  the  same  fruitful  source 


198  Bishops  of  jSTorth  Carolina. 

are  due  nine-tentlis  of  tlie  crimes  tliat  come  before  our  courts 
of  justice,  as  we  are  assured  by  some  of  those  who  are  engaged 
in  the  administration  of  justice.  How  much  of  the  misery  of 
private  life  is  brought  about  by  the  same  cause,  none  but  God 
himself  can  tell.  That  it  is  varied,  bitter,  widespread,  all  of  us 
must  know,  and  I  have  reason,  more  and  more  every  year,  to 
believe  that  it,  more  than  any  other  sin,  causes  spiritual  de- 
cline, and  final  apostacy  within  the  limits  of  the  Church  itself ; 
that  many  a  young  man  enters  upon  his  religious  course,  not 
only  with  sincerity  but  with  zeal,  and  yet,  yielding  to  the  entice- 
ments of  the  cup,  falls  away  from  the  faith,  withdraws  from 
religious  ordinances,  brings  shame  on  the  cause  of  Christ  and 
the  honor  of  His  Church,  and  ruin  on  his  own  soul.  'Now  are 
we  not  bound  to  do  what  we  can,  in  order  to  resist  this  sin  so 
deadly  in  itself  and  so  prolific  of  other  sins?  The  Church  of 
England  is  exerting  itself  with  great  honor  to  its  own  spirit 
and  principles,  and  with  great  benefit  to  the  country,  in  con- 
tending with  this  giant  adversary  to  all  righteousness  and  to  all 
human  happiness.  Can  we  not  do  something  more  than  we 
have  hitherto  done  in  the  same  holy  cause?  I  know  that  there 
are  good  men  who  object  to  societies  for  this  special  purpose  on 
the  ground  that  they  interfere  with  the  proper  work  of  the 
Church.  To  me  the  objection  seems  very  futile.  On  the  same 
ground,  missionary  societies,  tract  societies,  Bible  and  Prayer 
Book  societies,  associations  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  indeed 
most  charitable  and  religious  organizations  would  have  to  he 
renounced." 

Bishop  Atkinson  filled  the  Episcopate  for  nearly  thirty  years. 
During  that  time  he  took  part  in  the  consecration  of  ten 
Bishops,  as  follows:  Alexander  Gregg,  of  Texas,  October  13, 
1859 ;  Henry  Champlin  Lay,  of  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of 
the  South-west  (later  translated  to  the  Diocese  of  Easton  in 
Maryland),  October  23,  1859;  Charles  Todd  Quintard,  of  Ten- 
nessee, October  11,  1865;  John  Watrous  Beckwith,  of  Georgia, 
April    2,    1868;    William    Pinkney,    of    Maryland,    October    6, 


Bishops  of  I^oeth  Carolina,  199 

1870;  William  Bell  White  Howe,  of  South  Carolina,  October  8, 
1871;  Theodore  Benedict  Lyman,  of  N'orth  Carolina,  December 
11,  1873 ;  Edward  Randolph  Welles,  of  Wisconsin,  October  24, 
1874 ;  John  Henry  Ducachet  Wingfield,  of  l^orthern  California, 
December  2,  1874 ;  and  Charles  Clifton  Penick,  of  Cape  Palmas 
in  Africa,  February  13,  1877. 

In  1846,  Trinity  College,  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  conferred 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  upon  Mr.  Atkinson,  then  Rector 
of  Saint  Peter's  Church  in  Baltimore.  After  he  became  Bishop 
he  was  twice  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws — by 
the  University  of  !N'orth  Carolina  in  1862,  and  by  the  great 
English  University  of  Cambridge  in  1867. 

During  the  course  of  his  Episcopate,  Bishop  Atkinson  at- 
tended every  General  Convention  which  ever  assembled  except 
the  war-time  session  of  1863  (when  no  Southern  Bishops  were 
present),  the  special  session  of  1875,  and  the  session  of  1880, 
being  sick  when  the  last  named  was  held. 

Though  Bishop  Atkinson  had  been  physically  unable  to  at- 
tend the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1880,  he  later  rallied,  and 
seemed,  at  times,  in  some  measure  to  regain  his  usual  strength  and 
health.  But  this  improvement  was  only  temporary,  for  he  later 
grew  steadily  weaker,  and  passed  peacefully  away  at  his  home 
in  Wilmington,  surrounded  by  his  family  and  friends,  on  the 
4th  day  of  January,  1881.  This  event  caused  deep  grief  through- 
out jSTorth  Carolina,  and  was  recognized  as  a  loss  to  the  Church 
in  general.  No  Bishop  within  the  ranks  of  the  American  Epis- 
copate had  served  the  Church  more  faithfully,  more  lovingly, 
more  freely,  more  wisely;  and  few  had  met  with  so  great  a 
measure  of  success.  Gentle  and  considerate  in  manner,  yet  firm 
of  purpose  and  strong  in  action,  he  was  an  ideal  Bishop — a 
Ravenscroft  -vWthout  his  rugged  exterior,  an  Ives  without  his 
vacillations. 

A  tribute  both  eloquent  and  just  was  paid  to  the  memory  of 
Bishop  Atkinson  by  Bishop  Strange  in  an  address  delivered  at 


200  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Com- 
forter (a  memorial  to  Bishop  Atkinson)  in  Charlotte,  on  August 
6,  1909.*  On  that  occasion,  when  speaking  of  Bishop  Atkinson's 
first  coming  to  North  Carolina,  of  his  noble  traits,  and  splendid 
career,  Bishop  Strange  said : 

"We  needed  a  wise  and  loving  leader  then ;  and  the  good  God  gave 
him  to  us.  How  noble  his  presence,  how  gracious  his  manners,  how 
loving  his  heart,  how  firm  his  will,  how  wise  his  judgment !  He  knew 
what  this  Church  of  ours  is  and  what  she  stands  for;  and  this  he 
taught  in  season  and  out ;  and  yet  he  could  see  the  standpoint  of  the 
earnest  Christians  outside  our  communion;  and  he  so  mingled  love 
and  tolerance  with  his  presentation  of  the  truth  that  he  disarmed 
their  prejudice  and  won  their  respect  and  affection.  Under  his  wise, 
loving,  unselfish  rule,  harmony  and  hope  settled  sweetly  down  upon 
the  Church  herself,  and  she  went  forward  again  in  her  Godly  work. 
He  was  with  us,  our  true  friend  and  guide,  in  the  stormy  times  of 
war  and  in  the  dark  days  of  reconstruction.  To  him  more  than  to 
any  single  man  is  due  the  fact  that  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  Uuitel  States  is  to-day  One,  knowing  no  North  and  South,  no 
East  and  West.  Two  years  after  his  death,  the  Church  in  North 
Carolina  had  grown  too  large  for  the  administration  of  any  one 
Bishop ;  and  so  its  territory  was  divided,  and  the  General  Convention 
of  1883  set  apart  the  new  Diocese  of  East  Carolina.  For  nearly  thirty 
years  Bishop  Atkinson  guided  the  affairs  of  the  Church  in  the  whole 
State;  and  in  those  years  the  clergy  had  increased  from  thirty-six  to 
seventy-sis,  and  the  communicants  from  1,778  to  5,889.  To-day,  my 
friends,  twenty-eight  years  from  the  death  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  we 
have  at  work  in  the  State  three  Bishops,  125  clergymen  and  13,492 
communicants." 

The  funeral  of  Bishop  Atkinson  was  held  in  Wilmington  on 
January  7th.  Shortly  before  11  o'clock  on  that  day,  the  vestries 
of  Saint  James's,  Saint  John's,  Saint  Paul's,  and  Saint  Mark's 
Churches  assembled  at  the  Bishop's  residence,  and  formed  in 
procession,  going  to  Saint  James's  Church,  where  the  funeral 
services  and  interment  w^ere  to  take  place.  A  company  of  forty 
young  men  from  the  above  parishes,  in  relays  of  ten  at  a  time, 
bore  the  casket  from  the  late  home  of  the  deceased  to  the  Church. 

*  For  copy  of  this  address,  see  the  Carolina  Churchman  for  October, 
1909. 


Bishops  of  North  Cakolina.  201 

The  honorary  pall-bearers  were  the  following  eight  clergymen, 
all  clad  in  white  surplices:  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Thomas  M. 
Ambler,  George  Patterson,  Thomas  D.  Pitts,  Matthias  M.  Mar- 
shall, Bennett  Smedes,  Edward  R.  Rich,  Benjamin  S.  Bronson, 
and  J.  Worrall  Larmonr.  Officiating  at  the  Church  were 
Bishops  Lyman  of  North  Carolina  and  Whittle  of  Virginia, 
together  with  the  Rector  of  the  parish,  Reverend  Alfred  A. 
Watson.  Bishop  Lay,  of  the  Diocese  of  Easton,  was  also  pres- 
ent ;  but,  being  a  close  connection  of  the  Atkinson  family,  was 
not  one  of  the  officiating  clergy.  After  solemn  and  impressive 
services,  the  remains  of  Bishop  Atkinson  were  laid  beneath  the 
chancel  of  Saint  James's  Church.  Within  that  sacred  edifice 
has  since  been  placed  a  tablet  to  his  memory,  and  that  of  Mrs. 
Atkinson,  bearing  these  words : 

To  the  Revered  and  Beloved  Memory 

of  The  Right  Reverend 
THOMAS  ATKINSON,  D.D.,  LL.D., 

Third  Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 
Born  at  Mansfield,  Dinwiddie  Co.,  Va., 

Aug.  6th,  A.  D.  1S07. 
Consecrated  Bishop  of  North  Carolina 

Oct.  17th,  A.  D.  1853. 

Fell  Asleep  in  Jesus 

at  Wilmington  N.  C,  Jan.  4th,  1881. 

His  body  rests  beneath  this  Chancel 
in  sure  hope  of  a  blissful  resurrection. 


JOSEPHA  GWINN  ATKINSON, 

his  beloved  and  devoted  wife, 

fell  asleep  December  7th,  A.  D.  1887, 

and  reposes  by  his  side. 


In  referring  to  the  obsequies  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  a  Wilming- 
ton newspaper,  the  Weekly  Star,  of  January  14th,  said:     "It 


202  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

was  the  most  imposing  and  decorous  funeral  we  have  ever  wit- 
nessed in  Wilmington.  All  classes  and  denominations  partici- 
pated in  the  ceremonies,  anxious  to  do  honor  to  one  who  was 
not  only  great  but  good — one  of  nature's  noblemen,  a  very- 
prince  among  men." 

In  Bishop  Atkinson's  will,  he  bequeathed  his  theological 
library  and  five  hundred  dollars  in  money  to  the  Ravenscroft 
School  at  Asheville ;  and,  before  that  institution  closed  its  doors, 
it  was  the  purpose  of  the  Diocese  to  endow  in  its  faculty  a  chair 
to  be  known  as  "The  Bishop  Atkinson  Professorship  of  the  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity  and  of  Christian  Doctrine."  Another 
memorial  to  Bishop  Atkinson — in  course  of  construction  at  the 
present  time — is  a  house  of  worship  in  Charlotte,  which  the 
Beverend  Francis  M.  Osborne  is  now  raising  funds  to  have  com- 
pleted. It  will  be  known  as  "The  Church  of  the  Holy  Com- 
forter." Its  corner-stone  was  laid  August  G,  1909.  The  chancel 
window  of  Saint  Paul's  Church,  at  Wilmington,  is  also  an 
Atkinson  memorial.  Some  years  after  the  War  between  the 
States,  the  Reverend  David  D.  Van  Antwerp  wrote  a  history 
of  the  Church  and  dedicated  it  to  Bishop  Atkinson  in  these 
words:  "To  the  Right  Reverend  Thomas  Atkinson,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  Bishop  of  ISTorth  Carolina,  whose  many  admirable  quali- 
ties have  won  for  him  a  shining  fame  in  the  American  Church, 
this  work  is,  by  his  permission,  affectionately  dedicated  by  his 
friend  and  servant.  The  Author."  For  several  years  prior  to 
the  war.  Doctor  Van  Antwerp  served  as  a  presbyter  under 
Bishop  Atkinson  in  the  Diocese  of  I^orth  Carolina.  In  the 
See  House  at  Raleigh  is  an  oil  portrait  of  Bishop  Atkinson, 
presented  to  the  Diocese  by  Mrs.  A.  B.  Andrews. 

In  an  admirable  memorial  sermon  on  Bishop  Atkinson, 
preached  before  the  Diocesan  Convention  in  Christ  Church, 
Raleigh,  on  the  18th  of  May,  18S1,  Bishop  Lay  tells  us  of  many 
religious  opinions  held  by  the  deceased,  as  well  as  of  his  per- 
sonal characteristics.  Said  he,  on  that  occasion:  "He  was 
Anglican  to  the  backbone.     He  was  thoroughly  convinced  that 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  203 

the  Anglican  Reformation  was  necessary  and  lawful,  and  was 
insely  conducted,  so  that  no  catholic  truth  whatever  is  denied 
or  ohscured  in  our  formularies."  From  the  same  memorial  dis- 
course we  learn  that  one  of  Bishop  Atkinson's  firmest  convic- 
tions, founded,  as  he  thought,  on  the  general  consent  of  the 
primitive  Church,  was  that  every  baptism,  by  whomsoever  ad- 
ministered, where  the  matter  and  the  form  are  used,  is  a  valid 
baptism,  and  that  a  person  so  baptized  becomes  thereby  a  mem- 
ber of  the  catholic  body  of  Christ.  In  Baltimore,  on  one  occa- 
sion, says  Bishop  Lay,  a  child  was  presented  to  Doctor  Atkinson 
(then  a  parish  priest)  for  the  sacrament  of  baptism.  There 
being  some  hesitancy  in  reply  to  the  question  as  to  whether  or 
not  it  had  beei^  previously  baptized,  further  inquiry  was  made, 
and  it  appeared  that,  shortly  after  the  child's  birth,  its  life 
appeared  to  be  in  danger,  whereupon  the  attendant  physician 
hastily  applied  the  water  and  pronounced  the  formula.  Upon 
this  statement  of  facts,  Doctor  Atkinson  declared  that  such  bap- 
tism was  valid,  and  declined  to  proceed. 

Love  of  kindred,  we  ai'e  told,  was  a  predominating  trait  in  the 
character  of  Bishop  Atkinson.  After  specifying  the  stress  laid 
upon  the  various  relationships  of  the  Apostles  and  other  charac- 
ters in  Holy  Scriptures,  he  said :  "I  can  but  think  it  is  a  Chris- 
tion  duty  to  recognize  and  to  value  these  bonds  of  kinship. 
When  people  boast  that  they  do  not  care  for  their  relations  and 
connections  more  than  for  other  people,  it  only  proves  that  they 
have  cold  hearts  and  care  little  for  anyone  but  themselves." 
Commenting  upon  these  sentiments.  Bishop  Lay  observes : 
"Surely  he  was  right  in  this  position.  It  does  widen  our  hearts 
and  broaden  our  sympathies  thus  to  love  our  kindred.  It  is, 
beyond  all  doubt,  a  restraint  upon  the  young  to  know  that  they 
bear  a  name  which  has  never  been  dishonored,  and  that  any  mis- 
deed of  theirs  will  carry  personal  mortification  into  an  extensive 
circle  of  relatives  and  connections." 

Bishop  Atkinson's  domestic  life  was  singularly  free  from 
affliction.     The  first  death  in  his  father's  large  family  was  that 


204  Bishops  of  ISToeth  Caeolina. 

of  tlie  eldest  sou,  aged  fifty;  auotlier  died  at  the  age  of  sixty; 
and  the  remaining  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  Bishop — eight  in 
number — all  survived  him.  In  all  his  married  life,  extending 
throughout  a  period  of  fifty-three  years,  there  was  never  a  death 
among  his  children;  and  his  wife  also  survived  him.  Further- 
more, while  never  a  man  of  wealth,  Bishop  Atkinson  was  blessed 
all  through  life  with  means  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  himself 
and  family.  Well  might  he  say,  with  the  Psalmist,  "Surely 
goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life,  and 
I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  forever."  And,  in  the 
words  of  the  same  inspired  writer,  we  may  add :  "Mark  the  per- 
fect man,  and  behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is 
peace." 


Bishop  Lyman. 


THEODORE    BENEDICT    LYMAN 
FOURTH     BISHOP     OF     NORTH     CAROLINA 


THEODORE  BENEDICT  LYMAN, 

FoFRTH  Bishop  of  North  Carolina, 

The  family  from  which  sprang  Bishop  Lyman,  of  North 
Carolina,  is  of  English  descent  and  one  of  the  most  ancient  in 
America.  Richard  Lyman,  of  High  Ongar,  in  the  county  of 
Essex,  England  (a  gentleman  of  distinguished  ancestry  in  the 
mother  country),  was  born  about  the  year  1579  and  came  to 
America  in  the  ship  Lion,  Avhich  landed  at  Boston  on  November 
4,  1631.  He  became  a  freeman  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  on  June  11,  1633;  and,  in  1636,  removed  to  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, being  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  that  town.  He 
died  in  August,  1640.  His  name  is  inscribed  on  one  of  the 
columns  of  Centre  Church,  in  Hartford,  which  was  erected  as  a 
memorial  of  the  early  settlers  of  that  place.  Before  leaving 
England  he  married  Sarah  Osborne,  daughter  of  Roger  Osborne, 
of  Halstead,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  and  from  this  union  has 
descended  an  honored  and  numerous  posterity  in  America.  One 
of  their  sons,  Richard  Lyman,  was  born  in  1617,  before  his 
father  left  England.  After  his  parents  settled  in  Hartford,  he 
remained  there  for  some  time,  and  then  went  to  Northampton, 
where  he  was  made  one  of  the  select-men.  Later  still,  he  took 
up  his  abode  in  Windsor,  Connecticut,  and  was  a  land-owner  in 
that  place.  His  wife  was  Hephzibah  Ford.  He  died  on  the 
3d  of  June,  1662.  Among  his  children  was  Richard  Lyman, 
third  of  that  name  in  America,  who  was  born  at  Windsor  in 
1647.  On  May  26,  1675,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Coles. 
In  the  famous  Falls  Fight  (May  18,  1676)  he  commanded  a 
detachment  of  Northampton  colonists.  In  1696  he  removed 
from  Northampton  to  Lebanon,  Connecticut.  Speaking  of  him 
in  connection  with  the  latter  town,  his  family  historian  says: 
"Some  of  his  descendants  have  continued  to  reside  there  until 
the  present  time,  but  others  have  gone  out  over  all  the  land. 
They  early  emigrated  to  Vermont :  from  that  State  some  passed 


208  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

into  Canada;  others  westward  took  their  course,  and  onward 
still,  as  new  territories  and  States  have  arisen,  quite  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean."  The  Richard  Lynian,  last  referred  to,  owned 
property  in  Lebanon,  and  died  j^ovember  4,  1708.  Among  his 
children  was  a  son,  Jonathan,  who  was  born  on  January  7,  1684, 
and  went  with  his  father  from  ISTorthampton  to  Lebanon  in  1696. 
This  Jonathan  married  Lydia  Loomis,  and  died  on  August  11, 
1753.  He  was  a  noted  Indian  fighter.  His  son  and  namesake, 
Jonathan  Lyman,  was  born  on  the  23d  of  April,  1712,  and 
resided  in  Lebanon  also.  He  died  July  28,  1792.  His  wife 
Avas  Bethiah  Clark,  to  whom  he  was  married  on  October  2, 
1735.  Among  other  children  he  had  a  son,  William  Lyman, 
born  August  12,  1738.  On  February  12,  1761,  William  married 
Mary  Parker.  In  his  religious  affiliations  he  was  a  Congrega- 
tionalist.  He  died  April  2,  1827.  One  of  his  sons,  Asa,  was  the 
father  of  Bishop  Lyman,  to  whose  history  this  sketch  will  be 
devoted. 

The  Reverend  Asa  Lyman,  just  mentioned,  was  born  in  Leba- 
non, Connecticut,  on  the  24th  of  February,  1777.  He  graduated 
from  Yale  in  1797,  one  of  his  class-mates  being  the  Reverend 
Bethel  Judd,  who  afterwards,  for  a  short  while,  was  Rector  of 
Saint  John's  Church  in  Fayetteville,  ISTorth  Carolina,  and  also 
president  of  the  convention  at  New  Bern  which  reorganized  the 
Diocese  of  North  Carolina  in  1817.  Mr.  Lyman  became  a  Con- 
gregational clergyman,  at  times  being  compelled  by  ill  health  to 
retire  from  the  ministry  and  take  up  educational  work.  For  a 
while  he  was  also  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  being  a  dealer 
in  books.  A  few  years  before  his  death  he  removed  to  Clinton, 
New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  his  sons  at  Hamilton 
College  in  that  place.  He  died  at  Clinton  in  the  year  1836.  His 
wife  was  Mary  Benedict,  daughter  of  Aaron  Benedict,  and  a 
member  of  an  old  colonial  family.  In  addition  to  other  children 
(including  Bishop  Lyman)  the  Reverend  Asa  Lyman  left  a  son, 
the  Reverend  Father  Dwight  Edwards  Lyman,  who  was  a  priest 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 


BiSHors  OF  North  Cakolina.  209 

The  above  facts,  relative  to  the  ancestry  of  Bishop  Lyman,  we 
have  gathered  from  a  work  published  iu  1872,  entitled  Genealogy 
of  the  Lyman  Family  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  by  the 
Keverend  Lyman  Coleman,  D.  D.,  a  member  of  the  faculty  of 
Lafayette  College,  in  Easton,  Pennsylvania. 

In  the  account  above  set  forth,  we  have  spoken  only  of  the 
direct  ancestry  of  Bishop  Lyman,  as  space  will  not  permit  us  to 
go  into  the  history  of  the  widely  divergent  branches  of  the 
numerous  and  distinguished  family  to  which  he  belonged.  As 
colonists,  soldiers,  clergymen,  scholars,  philanthropists,  and  men 
of  affairs  in  general,  bearers  of  the  name  had  exercised  a  whole- 
some influence  in  the  communities  wherein  they  dwelt,  long  be- 
fore his  own  achievements  added  to  the  honors  so  worthily  won. 

The  Right  Reverend  Theodore  Benedict  Lyman,  D.  D., 
LL.  D.,  D.  C.  L.,  fourth  Bishop  of  ISTorth  Carolina  and  one  hun- 
dred and  third  in  the  succession  of  the  American  Episcopate, 
was  born  in  Brighton,  Massachusetts,  on  the  27th  day  of  No- 
vember, 1815.  He  graduated  from  Hamilton  College,  at  Clin- 
ton, New  York,  in  1837,  being  valedictorian  of  his  class.  Hav- 
ing determined  to  enter  the  sacred  ministry,  he  later  became  a 
student  at  the  General  Theological  Seminary  in  New  York  City, 
and  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1840.  Immediately  after 
his  graduation  he  removed  to  Maryland,  and  was  ordered  deacon 
in  Christ  Church,  Baltimore,  September  20,  1840,  by  the  Right 
Reverend  William  Rollinson  Whittingham,  who  had  been  ele- 
vated to  the  Episcopate  only  three  days  before.  At  Hagerstown, 
Maryland,  fifteen  months  later  (December  19,  1841),  he  was 
ordained  to  the  priesthood  by  Bishop  Whittingham. 

Between  the  years  1841  and  1850,  Mr.  Lyman  served  as  Rec- 
tor of  Saint  John's  Church  at  Hagerstown.  While  there  he  ren- 
dered a  great  service  to  the  cause  of  education  by  being  the  chief 
co-worker  with  Bishop  Whittingham  in  founding  the  College  of 
Saint  James.  In  a  monograph  by  the  Reverend  Hall  Harrison, 
published  in  Doctor  Bernard  C.  Steiner's  History  of  Education 
in  Maryland,  there  is  some  account  of  this  movement.    It  seems 


210  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

that  Bisliop  Whittingham  desired  to  establisli  an  educational 
institution  for  boys,  and  opened,  in  October,  1842,  at  Hagers- 
town,  a  school  called  Saint  James's  Hall.  Soon  afterwards 
there  was  thrown  upon  the  market  a  fine  country  estate  called 
Fountain  Eock,  in  "Washington  County,  Maryland,  about  six 
miles  from  Hagerstown,  and  Mr.  Lyman  realized  that  this  was 
admirably  suited  for  uses  as  a  school.  He  communicated  his 
views  to  Bishop  Whittingham,  who  determined  to  buy  it,  and 
appointed  Mr.  Lyman  to  interest  the  people  of  Maryland  (par- 
ticularly those  in  Washington  and  Frederick  Counties)  in  the 
undertaking.  It  was  also  necessary  to  raise  five  thousand  dol- 
lars to  start  the  enterprise,  and  this  Mr.  Lyman  succeeded  in 
doing,  after  much  labor.  In  selecting  a  principal  for  Saint 
James's  Hall,  Bishop  Whittingham  chose  the  Reverend  John 
Barrett  Kerfoot,  a  young  clergyman  who  had  been  born  in  Ire- 
land and  was  then  living  on  Long  Island,  in  'New  York,  where 
he  was  Assistant  Rector  of  the  school  conducted  by  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Muhlenburg,  under  whom  he  himself  had  been  educated. 
Mr,  Kerfoot  entered  upon  his  new  duties  with  zeal  and  success ; 
and,  in  1843,  the  Legislature  of  Maryland  passed  an  act  of 
incorporation  by  which  Saint  James's  Hall  became  the  College 
of  Saint  James.  Mr.  Lyman  was  one  of  the  trustees  named  in 
the  act  of  incorporation  of  this  college,  and  it  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  1856,  after  his  removal 
to  Pennsylvania.  Saint  James's  College  had  a  good  patronage 
from  North  Carolina,  among  the  many  students  from  this  State 
being  the  Reverend  Bennett  Smedes,  who  in  later  years  assisted 
his  father  as  Rector  of  Saint  Mary's  School  at  Raleigh,  and 
ultimately  became  his  successor.  As  to  the  later  history  of  the 
College  of  Saint  James,  it  remained  in  operation  until  1864, 
toward  the  close  of  the  War  Between  the  States,  when  President 
Kerfoot  and  his  chief  assistant,  the  Reverend  Joseph  Howland 
Coit,  were  arrested  by  order  of  General  Jubal  A.  Early,  of  the 
Confederate  Army,  in  retaliation  for  the  seizure  by  Union  forces 
of  some  clergymen  in  Virginia  who  were  Southern  sympathizers. 


Bisiioi's  OF  North  Cauolina.  211 

After  the  release  of  the  Revoretid  Messrs.  Kerfoot  aud  Coit,  the 
former  accepted  the  presidency  of  Trinity  College,  at  Hartford, 
later  becoming  Bishop  of  Pittsburg;  and  Mr.  Coit  removed  to 
JN'ew  Hampshire,  where  he  was  elected  Vice-Rector  of  Saint 
Paul's  School  in  Concord,  eventually  becoming  Rector  as  suc- 
cessor of  his  brother,  the  Reverend  Henry  Augustus  Coit,  when 
that  gentleman  died,  in  1895.  After  the  removal  of  President 
Kerfoot  and  Professor  Coit  from  Maryland,  the  College  of 
Saint  James  became  a  grammar  school,  and  is  now  in  operaiion 
as  such. 

While  priest  in  charge  of  Saint  John's  Church  at  Kagers- 
town,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Lyman  declined  three  calls  from  North 
Carolina,  including  one  from  the  parish  of  Saint  James  in  Wil- 
mington. In  the  Spring  of  1850  he  accepted  an  invitation  to 
become  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
and  there  officiated  with  great  success  for  ten  years,  his  parish 
growing  to  such  an  extent  that  a  new  one — Saint  Peter's — had 
to  be  organized.  In  1860  he  resigned,  wishing  to  spend  some 
time  in  Europe.  This  resignation  was  not  accepted,  his  congre- 
gation prevailing  upon  him  to  take  a  two  years'  leave  of  absence 
instead.  At  the  end  of  the  two  years,  however,  he  decided  to 
remain  abroad  for  a  longer  period,  and  insisted  upon  relinquish- 
ing his  charge  in  Pittsburg,  much  to  the  regret  of  his  parishion- 
ers. He  remained  in  Europe  ten  years,  and  was  an  efficient  fac- 
tor in  building  up  missions  of  the  American  Church  in  Roman 
Catholic  countries.  He  also  extended  his  travels  eastward,  twice 
visiting  Egypt,  Syria,  and  the  Holy  Land  (including  Mount 
Sinai),  as  well  as  going  to  other  localities  of  interest.  While  in 
Italy  he  had  charge  of  a  Church  at  Florence  in  the  years  1860 
and  1861.  In  1862  he  went  to  Rome,  and  there  officiated  (con- 
jointly with  another  clergyman)  in  the  household  of  the  Ameri- 
can Ambassador,  remaining  until  1863.  In  1864  and  1865,  he 
travelled  extensively  in  Europe  and  the  Orient.  Upon  his  re- 
turn to  Rome  in  the  Spring  of  1865,  he  found  a  new  Ambassador 
representing  the  United  States,  and  was  prevailed  upon  by  that 


212  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

gentleman  to  become  Chaplain  of  the  Embassy.  This  he  con- 
sented to  do,  and  the  Ambassador  rented  the  upper  apartments 
of  an  old  palace  belonging  to  a  Roman  prince,  one  of  the  largest 
rooms  in  this  building  being  used  as  a  chapel.  When  the  lease 
expired,  the  owner  of  the  palace,  who  occupied  the  lower  floor 
and  was  allied  with  the  papal  party,  refused  to  re-rent  it  unless 
the  religious  services  therein  were  discontinued.  Doctor  Lyman 
then  rented  a  hall  at  his  own  expense,  and  held  services  in  it  in 
1866-1867.  In  the  Spring  of  the  latter  year,  Cardinal  Antonelli 
formally  notified  the  American  Ambassador  that  these  services 
would  no  longer  be  tolerated  inside  the  city  unless  conducted 
within  the  privileged  precincts  of  the  Embassy.  As  the  Pope 
then  exercised  temporal  sovereignty,  this  left  Doctor  Lyman  to 
choose  between  services  in  the  Embassy  or  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  city.  Believing  that  separating  from  the  Ambassador's 
house  was  the  surest  means  of  rendering  the  services  permanent, 
he  organized  a  congregation  which  worshipped  in  a  little  chapel 
outside  of  the  limits  of  Rome,  and  there  he  ministered  till  1869, 
when  he  resigned.  Soon  after  he  returned  to  America,  the 
temporal  power  of  the  Pope  was  abolished,  and  the  Protestant 
congregation  outside  the  walls  (then  under  the  Reverend  Doctor 
liTevin)  was  no  longer  hindered  from  entering  the  gates.  Saint 
Paul's  Church,  in  Rome,  was  accordingly  built,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$150,000,  and  many  years  later  Doctor  Lyman  had  the  pleasure, 
under  happier  conditions,  of  paying  several  visitations  to  it  as 
Bishop.  And  there  it  stands  at  the  present  time,  ''a  witness  to 
the  ancient  Catholic  faith,  as  upheld  by  the  Reformed  Anglican 
Communion." 

So  wide  had  Doctor  Lyman's  reputation  as  a  theologian 
spread,  and  so  well  known  was  his  interest  in  education,  that  he 
was  invited,  in  June,  1869  (while  still  abroad),  to  return  to 
America  and  become  Dean  of  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary, in  New  York  City,  but  this  high  honor  he  declined.    Upon 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  213 

his  non-acceptance,  the  Reverend  John  Murray  Forhes,  D.  D., 
was  made  Dean.* 

After  resigning  his  charge  at  Rome  in  1860,  Doctor  Lyman 
again  travelled  in  the  far  East,  later  spending  some  time  in  Eng- 
land. He  came  back  to  America  in  1870,  and  accepted  a  call  to 
become  Rector  of  Trinity  Church,  in  San  Francisco,  California, 
one  of  the  strongest  parishes  on  the  Pacific  coast.  He  was  there 
officiating  with  great  success  and  ever-growing  influence  when 
elected  Assistant  Bishop  of  J^orth  Carolina  in  the  Spring  of 
1873.  As  his  consecration  was  not  to  take  place  until  December 
of  that  year,  it  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  spend  the  Summer 
in  Europe,  and  he  returned  from  this  tour  in  good  health  and 
spirits. 

In  the  sketch  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  heretofore  presented  in  this 
work,  there  is  some  account  of  the  proceedings  in  the  Diocese  of 
JSTorth  Carolina  which  led  up  to  the  creation  of  the  office  of 
Assistant  Bishop,  and  hence  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  same 
here. 

It  was  on  the  30th  day  of  May,  1873,  during  a  session  of  the 
Diocesan  Convention  at  Fayetteville,  that  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Lyman  was  elected  Assistant  Bishop  of  North  Carolina.  Thirty- 
four  ballots  were  taken  before  the  constitutional  majority  was 

*  This  Doctor  Forbes  had  been  a  friend  of  Bishop  Ives,  and  was 
connected,  to  some  extent,  with  him  after  Ives  became  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic. After  enjoying  success  as  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  Doctor  Forbes  had  himself  become  a  Roman  Catholic  in  1849 
(three  years  ahead  of  Ives),  had  entered  the  priesthood  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  and  been  placed  in  charge  of  several  parishes.  In  1852.  the 
Right  Reverend  Ignatius  A.  Reynolds.  Bishop  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Diocese  of  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  appointed  him  his  theolo- 
gian in  the  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore;  and  he  received  a  similar 
honor  from  the  Right  Reverend  .Tohn  Bernard  Fitzpatriek,  Roman 
Catholic  Bishop  of  Boston,  when  the  Provincial  Council  of  New  York 
assembled  in  1854.  In  the  latter  year  the  degree  of  S.  T.  D.  was  con- 
ferred upon  him  by  a  Vatican  Decree  of  Pius  IX.  In  1859,  Doctor 
Forbes  became  convinced  that  he  had  taken  an  erroneous  step  in  be- 
coming a  Roman  Catholic,  and  forthwith  re-entered  the  Church  which 
he  had  formerly  abandoned,  was  restored  to  his  priestly  office  therein, 
and  remained  true  to  the  Anglican  communion  throughout  the  remain- 
der of  his  life. 


214  Bishops  of  N'orth  Caeolina. 

attained.  Among  other  clergymen  voted  for  were  at  least  five  who 
afterwards  became  Bishops,  these  being  the  Reverend  Doctors 
Alfred  A.  "Watson,  William  Stevens  Perry,  George  F.  Seymour, 
Hugh  Miller  Thompson,  and  John  H.  D.  Wingfield.  On  several 
of  the  earlier  ballots,  Doctor  Lyman  received  a  substantial  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  cast,  but  canon  law  required  that  an  election 
should  not  result  until  one  person  should  receive  a  majority  of 
the  number  of  clergymen  who  were  entitled  to  seats  in  the  Con- 
vention, v/hether  they  were  present  in  person  or  not.  On  the 
final  ballot,  Doctor  Lyman  was  lacking  only  one  vote  of  having 
such  majority,  when  the  casting  vote  of  Bishop  Atkinson  elected 
him. 

The  consecration  of  Doctor  Lyman  as  Assistant  Bishop  of 
l^^orth  Carolina  took  place  in  Christ  Church  at  Raleigh  on  the 
11th  day  of  December,  1873,  and  was  the  first  ceremonial  of  the 
kind  which  ever  occurred  within  the  Diocese — Bishops  Ravens- 
croft,  Ives,  and  Atkinson,  all  having  been  consecrated  in  other 
States.  The  presiding  Bishop  at  the  above  consecration  was  the 
Right  Reverend  William  Rollinson  Whittingham,  of  Maryland, 
an  aged  and  venerable  prelate,  by  whom  Doctor  Lyman  had  been 
made  deacon  and  priest,  as  heretofore  stated.  There  were  also 
present  and  participating  in  the  impressive  ceremonies  on  this 
occasion.  Bishops  Atkinson  and  Lay — the  latter  having  been 
transferred  from  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  the  South-west 
and  made  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Easton,  in  the  State  of  Mary- 
land. Bishop  Lay  delivered  the  consecration  sermon — a  dis- 
course of  great  power,  pleading  for  Christian  unity — this  being 
afterwards  published  by  order  of  the  Convention. 

Bishop  Lyman  selected  Raleigh  as  his  place  of  residence,  and 
purchased  a  large  lot,  with  the  dwelling  thereon,  on  the  north- 
east corner  of  ISTorth  and  Wilmington  Streets.  The  dAvelling  he 
beautified  and  enlarged,  among  the  additions  thereto  being  a 
handsome  gallery,  v/here  were  displayed  many  paintings  and 
other  works  of  art  which  he  had  gathered  during  his  residence 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Being  a  man  of  wealth,  he  was 
able  freely  to  indulge  his  love  for  the  fine  arts,  and  still  have 


Bishops  ok  Nokth  Cakolina.  215 

means  left  with  which  to  help  the  poor  and  contribute  to  the 
cause  of  religion. 

At  the  time  of  Doctor  Lyman's  election  as  Assistant  Bishop, 
Christ  Church  was  the  only  general  house  of  worship  in  Raleigh 
for  the  white  race  of  the  Episcopal  communion,  and  that 
parish  then  labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  the  pews  be- 
ing owned  by  the  various  families  composing  its  congrega- 
tion— in  fact,  the  Church  was  mainly  built  with  funds  raised 
through  the  sale  of  pews,  though  these  (with  few  exceptions) 
have  since  been  donated  by  their  respective  OAvners  to  the  parish, 
thus  making  Christ  Church  a  free  house  of  worship.  To  supply 
the  need,  existing  in  1874,  of  a  church  with  free  pews,  the 
Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd  was  organized  in  Raleigh.  The 
plan  of  the  building  was  donated  by  the  Reverend  Johannes 
Adam  Oertel,  a  clergyman  of  the  Diocese  who  had  made  a  study 
of  ecclesiastical  architecture  and  had  planned  quite  a  number  of 
other  churches  throughout  jSTorth  Carolina,  though  his  fame  as 
an  artist  will  be  more  enduring — he  having  made  a  number  of 
celebrated  paintings  of  a  religious  nature,  some  of  these  now 
being  owned  by  the  University  of  the  South  at  Sew'anee.  As  the 
Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd  was  attended  by  Bishop  Lyman 
and  his  household,  a  word  or  tw^o  concerning  its  history  may  be 
of  interest.  It  is  located  on  the  western  half  of  a  block  bounded 
by  Hillsborough,  McDowell,  Morgan,  and  Salisbury  Streets, 
facing  on  the  first-named  thoroughfare,  one  block  west  of  the 
Capitol.  Its  first  Rector,  the  Reverend  Edward  R.  Rich,  in 
making  his  report  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1874,  said: 
"This  parish,  which  now  makes  its  first  parochial  report  and 
applies  for  admission  into  union  with  the  Convention  at  its 
present  session,  was  organized  on  the  25th  of  February,  1874,  to 
meet  the  imperative  demand  of  a  free  church  in  this  rapidly 
growing  city.  The  first  services  were  held  in  'Tucker  Hall,'  on 
Quinquagessima  Sunday,  1874,  and  have  been  continued  regu- 
larly ever  since,  with  joint  service  during  the  week  in  Christ 


21 G  Bishops  of  ]^orth  Carolina. 

Cliurch.  .  .  .  The  Easter  offering  of  tlie  congregation, 
ainoimting  to  $4,135.75,  was  a  noble  beginning  towards  the 
building  fund  of  our  free  chureb,  and  every  effort  is  being  made 
to  swell  that  amount,  so  that  we  may,  with  the  aid  rendered  us 
by  our  friends,  secure  a  lot  and  erect  our  Church  at  an  early 
day."  Upon  the  resignation  of  the  Eeverend  Mr.  Rich  as  Rector 
of  the  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  he  was  succeeded  by  the 
Reverend  Robert  Strange,  now  Bishop  of  East  Carolina.  Doctor 
Strange  later  gave  place  to  the  Reverend  William  Meade  Clark 
(now  editor  of  the  Southern  Churchman,  in  Richmond) ;  and, 
the  latter's  pastorate  being  relinquished,  November  30,  1891,  he 
was  succeeded,  in  turn,  by  the  Reverend  I.  McK.  Pittenger, 
D.  D.,  present  Rector  of  the  parish.  This  congregation,  in 
recent  years,  has  outgrown  its  original  Church  building  (which 
will  hereafter  be  used  as  a  chapel  and  parish  house),  and  is 
erecting  a  beautiful  and  spacious  granite  edifice  which,  when 
completed,  will  be  one  of  the  finest  buildings  of  its  kind  in 
]!Torth  Carolina.  Its  corner-stone  (sent  from  the  Holy  Land  by 
Doctor  Pittenger  during  his  travels  abroad)  was  laid  on  All 
Saints  Day,  1899,  tv^^enty-five  years  after  the  foundation  of  the 
parish. 

When  Bishop  Lyman  first  came  to  i^Torth  Carolina  he  was 
fifty-eight  years  old,  yet  strong  and  vigorous  in  physique,  and 
he  set  about  his  work  with  indomitable  zeal  and  energy.  JN^ot 
only  did  he  labor  for  the  welfare  of  the  white  race,  but  great 
interest  was  also  manifested  by  him  in  the  spiritual  and  educa- 
tional enlightenment  of  the  negroes.  Mention  has  already  been 
made  of  the  Church's  having  established  Saint  Augustine's 
School,  for  negroes,  at  Raleigh,  duz-ing  the  Episcopate  of  Bishop 
Atkinson.  After  a  visit  paid  to  that  institution  in  May,  1875, 
Bishop  Lyman  commented  upon  it  as  follows :  "ISTo  better  evi- 
dence could  be  desired,  than  is  furnished  by  this  congregation, 
of  the  eminent  adaptedness  of  the  services  of  our  Church  to  our 
colored  population.  The  responses  were  full  and  general,  the 
singing  and  chanting  spirited,  and  the  behavior  of  the  congrega- 


Bisiiors  OF  NoKTii  Cakolina.  217 

tion  remarkably  reverent  and  devotional.  A  liturgical  service, 
where  the  language  is  plain  and  simple,  and  where  its  frequent 
repetition  makes  it  most  familiar,  is  just  that  which  is  specially 
suited  to  this  class  of  people,  while  its  sober  and  chastening 
spirit  sei'ves  to  restrain  those  emotional  excesses  into  Avhich  they 
are  otherwise  so  liable  to  be  dra^vn." 

In  January,  1876,  Bishop  Lyman  visited  Randolph  County, 
where  was  then  located  Trinity  College,  a  Methodist  institution 
of  learning  which  has  since  been  removed  to  Durham.  !N"o  house 
of  worship  of  the  Episcopal  Church  then  being  near  Trinity, 
the  chapel  of  the  college  was  graciously  tendered  Bishop  Lyman 
by  the  president  of  the  institution,  who,  with  his  faculty  and 
students,  attended  the  services  in  a  body.  Speaking  of  the 
reception  with  which  he  had  met  on  that  occasion,  the  Bishop 
said :  "I  very  highly  appreciated  the  kind  courtesy  of  the  Presi- 
dent, which  enabled  me  to  give  the  benefit  of  our  services  to 
several  members  of  our  Church,  living  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, and  who  are  quite  remote  from  any  of  our  places  of 
worship.  I  was  glad,  too,  of  this  opportunity  for  manifesting 
to  our  Methodist  brethren  how  friendly  are  our  feelings  toward 
them;  and  that,  while  ecclesiastically  separated  from  them,  we 
entertain  no  other  sentiments  than  those  of  Christian  kindness 
and  cordiality.  I  can  never  be  brought  into  contact  with  them 
without  deeply  lamenting  that  we  cannot  all  'speak  the  same 
thing,  and  be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and  the 
same  judgment.'  May  He  Svho  maketh  men  to  be  of  one  mind 
in  an  house,'  in  His  own  good  time,  remove  all  grounds  of  mis- 
apprehension and  alienation,  that  so  we  may  be  drawn  together 
'in  the  unity  of  the  spirit  and  in  the  bond  of  peace.'  " 

The  Bishop  of  Tennessee,  intending  to  be  absent  abroad  for 
some  months  during  the  year  1876,  had  invited  Bishop  Lyman  to 
visit  the  eastern  part  of  that  Diocese  and  perform  the  duties  of 
the  Episcopate  in  his  absence.  In  accordance  with  this  request. 
Bishop  Lyman  spent  the  early  part  of  February  in  Tennessee, 
administering  the  rite  of  confirmation  on  several  occasions,  be- 


218  Bishops  of  ISTokth  Caroli:s^a. 

sides  holding  other  services.  In  recording  that  visitation,  he 
remarked:  ''This  brief  visit  to  a  sister  Diocese  proved  a  very 
pleasant  one,  and  I  was  glad  of  this  opportunity  for  manifesting 
such  fraternal  relations." 

Returning  from  Tennessee  in  February,  Bishop  Lyman  re- 
sumed his  duties  in  ISTorth  Carolina,  in  a  few  weeks  going  to  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State.  In  the  latter  locality  he  visited  Saint 
Thomas's  Church  in  Bath — the  oldest  church  building  in  ITorth 
Carolina — and  expressed  great  gratification  at  the  restoration 
of  that  venerable  edifice,  as  well  as  at  the  care  taken  of  the 
burial  ground  adjacent  thereto. 

At  the  end  of  the  Summer  of  1876,  Bishop  Lyman  went  to  his 
old  home  in  California  to  arrange  some  private  business,  and 
returned  to  ITorth  Carolina  in  November.  He  held  services  at 
numerous  points  throughout  the  Western  States  during  his 
absence,  and  came  back  by  way  of  Philadelphia,  ISTew  York,  and 
Baltimore,  also  conducting  religious  worship  on  several  occa- 
sions in  those  cities. 

Mention  has  already  been  made,  in  the  sketch  of  Bishop 
Atkinson,  of  the  conference  of  Bishops  of  the  Anglican  Church 
which  he  attended  in  1867  at  Lambeth  Palace,  the  seat  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  That  conference  resulted  so  satis- 
factorily and  awakened  so  much  interest  in  the  cause  of  religion 
that  it  has  since  been  held  about  every  ten  years.  In  1878, 
Bishop  Atkinson  was  too  much  enfeebled  in  health  to  make  the 
trip  again,  but  Bishop  Lyman  accepted  the  Archbishop's  invita- 
tion. Upon  hearing  of  this,  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1878 
passed  a  resolution  (offered  by  the  Reverend  Jarvis  Buxton)  as 
follows : 

"Resolved,  That  the  Convention  has  heard  with  gratification  of  the 
intention  of  the  Assistant  Bishop  to  attend  the  Conference  of  Bishops 
of  the  Anglo-Catholic  Church,  called  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, to  meet  at  Lambeth  in  the  month  of  July  next ;  and  it  would  be 
a  matter  of  additional  gratification  could  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese 
also  make  it  his  convenience  to  attend  the  same  Conference,  and  con- 
tribute thereto  the  benefit  of  his  wise  councils." 


Bishops  of  XouTir  Carolina.  219 

Bishop  Lyman  sailed  from  New  York,  June  6,  1878,  on  his 
jonniey  to  the  Lambeth  Conference.  Among  his  fellow-passen- 
gers, with  the  same  destination  as  his  own,  were  Bishops  Bedell 
of  Ohio,  Doane  of  Albany,  and  Spalding  of  Colorado.  After  a 
pleasant  voyage,  the  vessel  landed  at  Queenstown.  From  there 
Bishop  Lyman  went  first  to  Cork  and  afterwards  to  Dublin. 
Going  from  Ireland  to  Oxford,  he  there  participated  in  a  mis- 
sionary meeting  in  the  interest  of  the  Society  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  On  June  24th,  in  Saint 
Paul's  Cathedral,  he  participated  in  the  consecration  of  the 
Bishops  of  Litchfield,  Nassau,  and  Queensland.  At  this  conse- 
cration, the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  presided. 

Of  his  interesting  experiences  while  abroad  on  the  above  mis- 
sion in  1878,  Bishop  Lyman's  journal  gives  a  graphic  account, 
which  space  will  not  permit  us  to  reproduce  in  full.  Referring 
to  June  28th,  he  says :  "On  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  in  Can- 
terbury Cathedral,  there  was  a  very  impressive  service,  when 
the  Archbishop  gave  a  warm  address  of  welcome  to  the  Bishops 
from  foreign  lands  whom  he  had  invited  to  meet  him  on  that 
occasion.  The  grand  old  Cathedral  with  all  its  memories  of  the 
past,  the  large  stone  chair  of  St.  Augustine  in  which  the  Arch- 
bishop was  seated  and  from  which  he  gave  his  address,  the  long 
line  of  white-robed  choristers,  followed  by  the  clergy  and 
Bishops — all  duly  vested  and  passing  up  the  venerable  nave — 
combined  to  make  this  one  of  the  most  imposing,  solemn,  and 
impressive  ceremonials  which  it  has  ever  been  my  privilege  to 
witness.  On  the  following  Tuesday,  July  2d,  the  opening  ser- 
vice of  the  Lambeth  Conference  took  place  in  the  Chapel  of  the 
Palace.  I  felt  that  I  was  standing  on  a  very  sacred  spot,  Avhen 
I  remembered  that  it  was  in  this  same  chapel  that  the  first 
American  Bishops,  who  received  English  consecration,  were 
admitted  to  the  Episcopate  on  the  4th  of  February,  1787.  "What 
a  marvelous  expansion  has  been  witnessed  since  that  day  of 
small  things !" 


220  BisHors  of  North  Carolina. 

In  commenting  on  the  probable  effects  of  the  Lambeth  Con- 
ference, Bishop  Lyman  used  this  language:  "Whatever  serves 
to  promote  a  better  understanding,  and  an  increase  of  unity,  in 
all  the  constituent  parts  of  the  widespread  Anglican  Com- 
munion, must  be  a  singular  advantage.  And  in  thus  realizing 
the  blessings  of  true  unity  among  ourselves,  we  are  naturally  led 
to  yearn  more  anxiously  for  unity,  in  God's  good  time,  among 
all  the  branches  of  the  One  Holy,  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church,  and  among  all  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians. Such  meetings  as  that  which  took  place  at  Lambeth  last 
Summer  can  hardly  fail  to  exert  a  powerful  influence  over  the 
entire  body,  thus  represented,  in  restraining  all  doctrinal  and 
ritual  divergencies,  in  awakening  on  every  side  a  higher  sense  of 
the  value  of  unity,  and  in  deepening,  at  the  same  time,  the  love 
for  those  primitive  and  truly  Catholic  principles  upon  which 
alone  any  larger  and  more  widespread  unity  can  be  effectually 
established." 

The  Lambeth  Conference  of  1878  adjourned  on  July  27th  in 
that  year,  with  solemn  services  in  Saint  Paul's  Cathedral. 
After  that,  Bishop  Lyman  visited  Leamington,  Warwick  Castle, 
Stratford-on-Avon,  and  other  places  of  interest.  At  Farnham 
Castle,  the  seat  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  he  met  with  a  num- 
ber of  other  Bishops  of  the  Anglican  communion,  and  also  with 
Bishop  Herzog  of  the  Old  Catholic  Church  of  Switzerland — a 
communion  in  close  accord  with  the  Church  of  England.  An- 
other Old  Catholic  there  present  was  the  celebrated  Pere  Hya- 
cinth. From  Farnham  Castle,  Bishop  Lyman  went  to  Wells 
Cathedral  to  attend  a  missionary  service  inaugurated  by  the 
Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells;  and,  after  that,  was  a  guest  of  the 
Bishop  of  Gloucester  and  Bristol.  While  in  England  he  saw  for 
the  last  time  Bishop  Joseph  P.  B.  Wilmer,  of  Louisiana,  who 
died  soon  after  returning  to  America.  Eeferring  to  this  inter- 
view, and  to  Bishop  Wilmer  personally,  he  said:  "At  the  rail- 
way station  near  Great  Malvern  I  parted  from  Bishop  Wilmer, 
who  remained  there  for  a  day  to  give  comfort  and  consolation  to 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  221 

a  valued  friend  who  had  kilcly  been  sorely  bereaved.  Little  did 
T  think,  when  parting  from  my  dear  brother,  that  this  would  be 
our  last  meeting  on  earth.  Let  me  only  add  that  I  cannot  but 
esteem  it  a  great  privilege  to  have  been  thrown,  so  much  as  I 
was,  with  this  pure  and  holy  man  during  the  time  of  his  sojourn 
in  England.  It  is  indeed  a  sad  loss  which  the  Church  has  sus- 
tained, in  what  I  might  almost  call  his  translation  to  a  better 
world.  His  wonderful  child-like  simplicity  of  character,  his 
singular  purity,  his  large-hearted  generosity,  his  genial  loveli- 
ness, his  deep  devotion  to  the  Church,  and  his  advocacy  of  her 
claims,  won  all  hearts  wherever  he  went  during  his  sojourn  in 
England.  Long  shall  I  mourn  his  loss,  as  one  of  the  truesfand 
dearest  friends  of  my  life." 

In  August,  Bishop  Lyman  visited  the  old  Abbey  Church  of 
Saint  Albans,  and  was  later  a  guest  at  the  handsome  seat  of 
Mr.  Beresford-Hope,  in  the  county  of  Kent.  Afterwards  he 
went  to  Ireland,  where  he  was  a  guest  at  the  palace  of  the  Bishop 
of  Down  and  Connor,  by  whose  invitation  he  preached  at  the 
consecration  of  a  handsome  new  church  in  the  suburbs  of  Bel- 
fast, on  August  22d.  He  also  visited  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh, 
Primate  of  Ireland.  From  Ireland  he  went  to  Scotland  as  a 
guest  of  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh.  On  a  visit,  later  paid,  to  the 
Bishop  of  Argyll  raid  the  Isles,  he  was  placed  in  a  seat  by  the 
side  of  that  Church  dignitary  during  the  progress  of  a  Synod, 
before  which  he  delivered  an  address.  "While  in  Scotland, 
Bishop  Lyman  was  also  a  guest  of  the  Earl  of  Glasgow  on  a 
yachting  party.  In  the  course  of  this  cruise  the  Earl's  yacht 
touched  at  the  Island  of  Cambrae,  where  the  Bishop  preached 
in  the  Cathedral  of  the  Isles.  Going  back  to  England,  he  was 
the  recipient  of  many  more  courtesies,  both  from  Bishops  and 
other  clergy,  besides  the  laity.  He  also,  while  there,  had  an 
opportunity  of  renewing  his  acquaintance  with  the  Vicar  of 
Adderbury,  who  had  once  been  one  of  his  travelling  companions 
in  Egypt  and  Syria  many  years  before.  Of  the  treatment 
accorded  himself  and  his  brethren  from  America,  while  in  Great 


222  JBisHOFS  OF  ISToKTH  Cakolina. 

Britain,  Bishop  Lyinaii  said:  "ISTearly  every  Sunday  while  I 
was  in  Great  Britain,  I  was  preaching  in  one  or  more  of  the 
parish  churches,  and  I  was  greatly  cheered  hy  the  warm  and 
affectionate  welcome  which  greeted  the  American  Bishops  in 
every  part  of  the  United  Kingdom.  It  was  quite  impossible  for 
me  to  respond  favorably  to  many  of  the  invitations  to  preach, 
which  I  was  constantly  receiving,  or  to  accept  one  tithe  of  the 
hospitality  which  was  so  generously  tendered.  In  fact,  we  were 
all  treated,  not  like  strangers,  but  as  brethren  beloved,  and  we 
were  welcomed  with  a  heartiness  and  warmth  which  made  us 
feel  more  like  kindred  than  as  foreigners.  I  am  sure  that  we 
have  all  of  us  brought  away  very  sweet  memories  of  our  sojourn, 
which  we  shall  never  fail  to  recall  with  the  most  grateful  emo- 
tions." 

After  being  joined  by  some  members  of  his  family  during  the 
month  of  October,  Bishop  Lyman  left  England,  going  to  France, 
Spain,  Algeria,  the  Island  of  Corsica,  and  Rome,  which  last- 
mentioned  place  (as  heretofore  stated)  had  once  been  his  home. 
Recording  his  impressions  of  this  scene  of  his  earlier  labors,  he 
said :  "This  visit  to  Home  was  one  of  peculiar  interest  to  me. 
It  afforded  me  no  common  satisfaction  to  officiate  in  the  beauti- 
ful church  which  has  been  erected  there,  and  to  witness  the  great 
ecclesiastical  changes  since  the  day  when  I  was  ministering  in 
an  humble  chapel  outside  the  gates  of  the  city.  The  noble  church 
which  now  stands  in  a  conspicuous  spot,  in  the  very  heart  of 
Rome,  has  attracted  great  attention  in  the  city;  and,  at  all  its 
services,  very  considerable  numbers  of  the  Roman  people  are 
seen,  looking  on  with  no  ordinary  interest.  I  trust  it  may  not  be 
long  before  arrangements  can  be  made  for  conducting  a  regular 
Italian  service  within  its  walls,  for  it  is  only  by  such  a  service 
that  the  Italian  people  can  be  led  to  see  and  understand  the  true 
position  of  the  Anglican  Communion.  And  there  is  greater  need 
of  this  because  of  the  multiplied  so-called  Protestant  services 
now  held  in  Rome,  by  many  varying  sects,  advocating,  as  some 
of  them  do,  the  most  extreme  and  fanatical  opinions.     If  the 


Bisiioi's  OF  XoKTH  Carolina.  223 

only  ideas  of  a  Reforniecl  Church  are  to  be  su[)i)lied  by  such 
teachers,  the  very  name  of  Protestant  is  likely  to  be  brought  into 
contempt." 

Going  from  Rome  to  Paris,  and  thence  to  London,  Bishop 
Lyman  received  a  pressing  invitation  to  spend  Christmas  in 
the  last-mentioned  place  with  the  Reverend  Doctor  Tremlett. 
This  invitation  he  accepted,  and  found,  at  the  home  of  his  host, 
Bishop  and  and  Mrs.  Lay,  who  had  just  arrived  from  America. 
Bishop  Lay,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  participated  in  the  con- 
secration of  Bishop  Lyman  in  Raleigh  six  years  before,  and  had 
preached  the  sermon  on  that  occasion. 

Leaving  his  family  in  Europe  and  embarking  for  Xew  York 
from  Liverpool  on  December  31,  1878,  Bishop  Lyman  spent  the 
fii-st  few  days  of  the  year  1879  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  experi- 
encing a  stormy  voyage,  but  landing  safely  on  xVmerican  soil, 
January  11th.  From  Xew  York  he  went  to  Baltimore,  and 
reached  his  home  in  Raleigh  on  the  24th  of  January.  Shortly 
thereafter  he  went  to  visit  and  consult  with  Bishop  Atkinson 
in  Wilmington,  later  setting  out  on  his  Spring  visitations,  which 
were  brought  to  a  successful  close. 

In  his  journal  for  May  23,  1880,  Bishop  Lyman  refers  to  an 
interesting  branch  of  the  Church's  work,  saying :  "On  the  even- 
ing of  the  same  day  I  took  part  in  the  service  at  the  Church  of 
rhe  Good  Shepherd,  Raleigh,  when  the  Rev,  Job  Turner,  a  deaf- 
mute,  and  Deacon  of  the  Diocese  of  Virginia,  rendered  the  ser- 
vice into  the  sign  language,  the  pupils  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 
Asylum  being  present.  He  also  baptized  a  child  of  deaf-mute 
parents,  and  afterwards  preached — the  baptismal  service  and  the 
sermon  being  also  read  by  the  Rector.  I  was  much  pleased  to 
learn  from  Mr.  Turner  that  he  expects  to  spend  most  of  his  time 
in  visiting  the  larger  towns  and  cities  of  our  country,  holding 
services  for  this  very  interesting  class  of  persons,  and  thus 
enabling  them  to  enjoy  occasionally  the  privileges  of  our  public 
worship." 


224  Bishops  of  ITorth  Cakolina. 

The  first  official  act  by  Bishop  Lyman  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1880  was  on  May  30th,  in  that 
year,  when  he  ordained  to  the  priesthood  the  Reverend  Joseph 
Blount,  Cheshire,  Jr.,  afterwards  Assistant  Bishop  under  him 
and  eventually  his  successor  as  Bishop  of  N"orth  Carolina,  which 
office  he  now  holds.  Another  deacon  raised  to  the  priesthood  a 
few  years  later  (j!^ovember  15,  1885)  hy  Bishop  Lyman  was  the 
Reverend  Robert  Strange,  now  Bishop  of  East  Carolina.  Later 
still  (May  24,  1891),  Bishop  Lyman  also  ordained,  as  priest,  the 
Reverend  Junius  Moore  Horner,  at  present  Missionary  Bishop 
of  Asheville,  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Upon  the  death  of  Bishop  Atkinson,  January  4,  1881,  Bishop 
Lyman  succeeded  to  the  full  Bishopric  of  ISTorth  Carolina 
without  additional  ceremony,  and  presided  over  the  Diocesan 
Convention  which  assembled  in  Raleigh  four  months  later, 
in  May.  On  the  latter  occasion  he  spoke  feelingly  of  his  past 
associations  with  Bishop  Atkinson,  saying,  in  part:  ''From 
the  day  of  my  entrance  into  this  Diocese  as  his  associate,  he  gave 
me  his  fullest  confidence,  and  rejoiced  in  every  way  to  aid  and 
strengthen  me  in  my  work.  And  to  me  it  was  a  great  comfort  to 
enjoy  the  benefit  of  his  wise  counsels,  and  that  fraternal  sym- 
pathy which  he  always  manifested  in  the  fullest  measure.  ISTow 
that  so  great  a  source  of  strength  is  taken  from  me,  and  I  am 
left  to  carry  on  alone  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  this 
widely  extended  Diocese,  I  feel  that  I  shall  not  ask  in  vain  for 
your  sympathy  and  prayers,  your  hearty  and  cordial  co-opera- 
tion." 

In  1881,  while  on  a  visit  to  Detroit,  Michigan,  Bishop  Lyman 
went,  by  invitation  of  Bishop  Harris,  to  Ann  Arbor,  and  there 
(October  16th)  preached  at  the  ordination,  as  deacon,  of  the 
eminent  author  and  educator,  Moses  Coit  Tyler,  afterwards  Pro- 
fessor of  American  History  in  Cornell  University,  at  which 
place  he  was  advanced  to  the  priesthood  by  Bishop  Coxe.  Pro- 
fessor Tyler  had  formerly  been  a  Congregational  clergyman. 


Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina.  225 

Some  brief  mention  lias  already  been  made  (in  the  sketch  of 
Bishop  Atkinson)  of  the  unsuccessful  effort  to  establish  an  edu- 
cational institution  for  boys,  at  Morganton,  in  Burke  County. 
This  was  to  be  called  Wilbcrforce  School,  as  a  memorial  of  the 
Right  Reverend  Samuel  Wilberforce,  Lord  Bishop  successively 
of  Oxford  and  "vYinchester,  in  England,  who  had  died  in  1873. 
This  eminent  Anglican  dignitary  was  the  same  Bishop  of  Oxford 
of  whom  Bishop  Ives  had  so  often  spoken  in  terms  of  admira- 
tion in  years  gone  by.  Bishop  Atkinson  having  urged  upon  the 
Diocesan  Convention  of  1874  the  desirability  of  providing  re- 
ligious educational  facilities  for  boys,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed— consisting  of  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Benjamin  S.  Bron- 
son,  Edward  M.  Forbes,  and  Robert  B.  Sutton,  together  with 
Messrs.  William  H.  Hardin,  and  Claudius  B.  Denson — to  take 
the  matter  under  consideration.  At  its  own  request,  this  com- 
mittee was  continued,  and  authorized  (with  the  concurrence  of 
Bishops  Atkinson  and  Lyman)  to  determine  upon  a  place  of 
location  for  the  school;  also  to  take  any  other  action  by  them 
deemed  advisable.  Having  been  requested  by  Bishop  Atkinson 
to  assume  chief  direction  of  the  matter.  Bishop  Lyman  person- 
ally inspected  various  sites,  and  finally  (with  the  unanimous  con- 
currence of  the  other  members  of  the  committee)  selected  a  tract 
of  two  hundred  acres — called  Vine  Hill — a  mile  or  two  souih- 
east  of  Morganton.  At  the  Court  House  in  the  latter  toAvn,  on 
July  6,  1874,  Bishop  Lyman  addressed  a  mass  meeting  of  citi- 
zens of  the  vicinity.  Afterwards  a  fund  was  raised  by  popular 
subscription  and  the  Vine  Hill  tract  purchased,  besides  about 
one  thousand  dollars  being  pledged  to  aid  in  erecting  buildings. 
At  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1877,  a  committee  was  ajjpointed 
to  take  into  consideration  the  condition  of  Wilberforce  School, 
this  committee  consisting  of  General  William  R.  Cox,  Colonel 
Joseph  J.  Erwin,*  and  Colonel  Thomas  George  Walton — the  two 

*  As  a  raeniorial  to  Colonel  Erwin  and  his  wife,  a  beautiful  stone 
chapel  was  erected  at  West  Durham  in  1907-'08  by  their  son  William 
A.  Erwiu,  a  never-tiring  worker  in  the  interests  of  the  Church. 


226  Bishops  of  ^STorth  Carolina. 

last  named  being  citizens  of  Morganton  and  delegates  from 
Grace  Cliiircli  in  that  town.  This  committee  recommended  that 
some  person  should  be  appointed  to  solicit  funds  for  the  erection 
of  the  school  building;  and,  in  accordance  with  this  suggestion, 
Colonel  Walion  was  chosen  for  that  purpose.  To  the  Diocesan 
Convention  which  met  in  May,  1878,  Bishop  Lyman  reported 
that  work  on  the  building  ^vould  probably  be  begun  by  the  fol- 
lowing September.  The  intention  of  the  committee,  he  said,  was 
to  rent  a  house  in  Morganton  for  the  temporary  work  of  the 
school.  Early  in  1879,  matters  looked  promising,  for  Bishop 
Lyman  was  able  to  announce  that  sufficient  funds  had  been 
raised  to  pay  for  the  erection  of  the  building  on  plans  gratui- 
tously drawn  by  an  architect  in  Baltimore.  During  that  year 
the  erection  progressed  as  far  as  the  windows  of  the  second  story, 
and  then  ceased  for  lack  of  funds.  By  way  of  making  matters 
worse,  reports  began  to  be  circulated  that  the  building  was 
unsafe  —  in  danger  of  collapsing  —  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  investigate  its  condition.  This  committee  consisted 
of  the  Reverend  Robert  B.  Sutton,  D.  D.,  the  Honorable  John  S. 
Henderson,  and  Colonel  Roger  B.  Atkinson.  One  of  these  gen- 
tlemen, Mr.  Henderson,  was  detained  from  the  investigation  by 
public  business,  but  Doctor  Sutton  and  Colonel  Atkinson  found 
the  building  entirely  safe,  though  unsatisfactory  in  some  other 
respects.  At  a  later  period  Bishop  Lyman  tried  to  find  some 
person  who  Avould  be  willing  to  lease  the  property  on  easy  terms, 
complete  the  building,  and  run  the  school  as  a  personal  enter- 
prise under  the  auspices  of  the  Church.  This  effort  was  unsuc- 
cessful. The  final  failure  of  the  Wilberforce  School  movement 
was  announced  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1882  by  Bishop 
Lyman,  in  these  words :  "On  Friday,  July  29th,  1881,  I  met  the 
Trustees  of  Wilberforce  School;  and,  after  mature  deliberation, 
and  a  full  consideration  of  all  the  difficulties  surrounding  the 
enterprise,  it  was  resolved  to  go  no  further  with  the  work,  but 
let  the  property  be  sold  and  the  proceeds  divided  pro  rata  among 
the  contributors.     It  was  a  great  disappointment  to  see  this 


Bishops  of  iN'oirnr  Carolina.  227 

scheme  prove  unsuccessful,  but  the  unsaiisfactoiy  character  of 
the  buildiug,  aud  other  weighty  considerations,  induced  us  to 
adopt  this  course.  I  trust  that  the  day  is  not  distant  when  a 
school  for  boys,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church,  may  be  suc- 
cessfully established." 

The  failure  of  the  efforts  to  establish  Wilberforce  School  was 
indeed  a  disappointment  to  Bishop  Lyman,  who  had  not  only 
labored  for  its  success,  but  personally  was  a  liberal  contributor 
to  the  fund  raised  for  its  erection.  Another  zealous  worker,  who 
raised  funds  by  personal  appeals  in  New  York,  Maryland,  and 
other  States  besides  ISTorth  Carolina,  was  the  Eeverend  Neilson 
Falls,  Rector  of  Grace  Church  in  Morgantou.  This  gentleman 
also  personally  supervised  a  good  deal  of  the  work.  iSTor  were 
efforts  in  behalf  of  the  school  limited  to  Episcopalians,  as  Col- 
onel Samuel  McDowell  Tate,  and  otlier  public-spirited  citizens 
of  Morganton  who  belonged  to  different  communions,  nobly 
aided  in  the  work  by  which  it  was  vainly  sought  to  build  up  a 
useful  educational  institution.  The  trustees  of  Wilberforce 
School,  named  in  the  act  incorporating  it  (chapter  139  Private 
Laws  of  lS74-'75)  were  the  Eight  KeA^erend  Thomas  xVtkinson, 
the  Right  Reverend  Theodore  B.  Lyman,  the  Reverend  Benja- 
min S.  Bronson,  the  Eeverend  ISTeilson  Falls,  and  Messrs.  Wil- 
liam R.  Myers,  Thomas  G.  Walton,  Joseph  J.  Erwin,  Kemp  P. 
Battle  and  Samuel  McD.  Tate. 

While  referring  to  the  educational  work  which  has  been  car- 
ried on,  from  time  to  time,  in  the  interests  of  the  Church,  men- 
tion should  be  made  of  the  labors  of  the  late  Eeverend  Francis 
J.  Murdoch,  D.D.,  of  Salisbury.  Though  not  conducting  a 
divinity  school,  this  gentleman  personally  instructed  upwards 
of  twelve  candidates  for  orders,  some  of  Avhom  are  now  among 
the  most  useful  clergy  of  the  Diocese.  A  private  Church  school, 
for  girls,  under  the  Reverend  Francis  Hilliard,  of  Oxford,  also 
did  much  good  work. 

In  1883,  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina  was  divided  by  sever- 
ing therefrom  a  terriiory  out  of  which  was  created  the  Diocese 


228  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

of  East  Carolina.  While,  as  early  as  1866,  there  was  some  in- 
formal discussion  as  to  the  desirability  of  erecting  a  new  dio- 
cese, probably  the  first  definite  action  with  this  end  in  view 
had  been  taken  at  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  North  Carolina 
in  May,  1868,  when  a  special  committee  was  appointed,  con- 
sisting of  the  Reverend  Alfred  A.  Watson,  the  Reverend  Joseph 
Blount  Cheshire,  Sr.,  the  Reverend  Benjamin  S.  Bronson, 
Armand  J.  DeRosset,  M.D.,  and  Mr.  Richard  H.  Smith.  This 
committee  issued  a  pamphlet  of  thirty-seven  pages,  entitled  An 
Address  to  the  Several  Dioceses  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  on  the  Subject  of  the  Division  of 
Dioceses.  This  memorial  was  presented  to  the  General  Con- 
vention by  the  Reverend  Alfred  A.  Watson,  chairman  of  the 
committee,  but  nothing  seems  to  have  come  of  it.  At  the  ISTorth 
Carolina  Diocesan  Convention  of  1874  the  Reverend  Francis 
J.  Murdoch,  Rector  of  Saint  Luke's  Church  in  Salisbury,  again 
brought  up  the  matter  for  consideration  with  a  resolution  look- 
ing to  such  division.  After  an  amendment  to  Mr.  Murdoch's 
resolution  by  General  James  G.  Martin,  the  question  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee  consisting  of  the  Reverend  Edward  M. 
Eorbes,  the  Reverend  Alfred  A.  Watson,  the  Reverend  Joseph 
C.  Huske,  Armand  J.  DeRosset,  M.D.,  and  the  Honorable 
Robert  Strange.  In  1875,  on  motion  of  General  Martin,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  report  a  plan  of  division,  and  this 
committee  consisted  of  the  Reverend  Aldert  Smedes,  the  Rev- 
erend Matthias  M.  Marshall,  the  Reverend  Edward  R.  Rich, 
General  James  G.  Martin,  and  Mr.  Richard  H.  Battle,  Jr. 
This  committee  recommended  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
1876  that  the  State  should  be  divided  into  two  dioceses,  to  be 
known  respectively  as  the  Diocese  of  Raleigh  and  the  Diocese 
of  Wilmington.  The  chairman  of  this  committee,  Doctor 
Smedes,  died  in  the  ensuing  year.  At  the  Convention  of  1877, 
the  question  of  dividing  the  diocese  was  made  a  special  order 
for  May  31st;  and,  on  that  day,  a  report  from  a  majority  of 
the  committee  was  submitted  for  the  consideration  of  the  Con- 


Bishops  of  !N"orth  Carolina.  229 

vention.  This  report  recommended  tliat,  with  the  consent  of 
the  Bishop,  a  new  Diocese  shonld  be  established  (though  this 
was  not  on  the  geographical  lines  adopted  when  the  division 
finally  took  place  in  1883),  and  another  committee — Reverend 
Jarvis  Buxton,  Reverend  Alfred  A.  Watson,  Colonel  William 
L.  DeRosset,  Judge  Henry  R.  Bryan,  and  the  Honorable  John 
S.  Henderson — was  appointed  to  fix  other  limits  of  the  pro- 
posed Diocese.  The  limits  recommended  by  this  committee 
were  also  different  from  those  eventually  adopted.  An  ad- 
journed meeting  of  this  latter  convention  was  held  in  Raleigh 
during  the  month  of  September,  1877,  chiefly  to  consider  the 
question  of  establishing  a  new  Diocese.  After  a  free  discussion 
of  the  matter,  however,  the  Reverend  Joseph  C.  Huske  offered 
a  resolution  (duly  adopted)  which  indefinitely  postponed  action 
in  consequence  of  the  wide  diversity  of  opinion  existing  in  the 
Convention  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  proposed  course.  During 
the  sittings  of  this  body.  General  Martin  offered  a  minority 
report,  proposing  a  division  on  geographical  lines  different 
from  any  of  those  theretofore  suggested.  His  report  rec- 
ommended the  establishment  of  a  new  Diocese  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State.  As  the  central  and  western  section  of  North 
Carolina  would  even  then  be  too  large,  this  minority  report 
also  recommended  that  the  General  Convention  should  be  peti- 
tioned further  to  subdivide  that  part  of  the  State  by  establish- 
ing the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  Asheville,  for  work  still 
further  west,  in  the  mountain  section.  This  was  the  course 
pursued  some  years  later — the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina  being 
established  in  1883,  and  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of  Ashe- 
ville in  1898.  General  Martin's  resolution  also  provided  that 
all  three  dioceses  should  be  under  one  legislative  assembly,  to 
be  called  the  Synod  of  the  Province  of  iN'orth  Carolina,  and 
that  this  body  should  be  presided  over  by  the  senior  Bishop 
residing  within  the  State.  This  latter  plan  was  never  adopted. 
The  proposition  to  divide  the  Diocese  remained  in  abeyance 
for  several  years,  and  was  brought  up  again  at  the  Diocesan 


230  Bishops  of  I^okth  Carolina. 

Convention  of  1882,  when  the  Reverend  Matthias  M.  Marshall, 
D.D.,  offered  a  resolution  setting  forth  that  the  welfare  of  the 
Church  demanded  a  division  of  the  Diocese,  also  specifying  how 
the  two  separate  dioceses  should  be  bounded,  and  instructing 
the  deputies  to  the  ensuing  General  Convention  to  obtain  that 
assembly's  sanction  to  the  proposed  change.  These  resolutions 
were  referred  to  a  committee  of  seven,  consisting  of  the  Reverend 
Messrs.  Joseph  C.  Huske,  Jarvis  Buxton,  Matthias  M.  Mar- 
shall, and  Benjamin  S.  Bronson,  together  with  Messrs.  Wil- 
liam L.  DeRosset,  James  S.  Battle  and  John  Wilkes.  A  ma- 
jority of  this  committee  made  its  report  to  the  effect  that  "the 
welfare  of  the  Church  in  ITorth  Carolina  demands  a  division 
of  the  Diocese,"  but  recommending  boundary  lines  other  than 
those  specified  in  Doctor  Marshall's  resolution.  In  the  same 
report  it  was  provided  that  the  deputies  to  the  next  General 
Convention  should  apply  to  that  body  for  authority  to  make  the 
change,  etc.  From  this  report  one  member  of  the  committee, 
Mr.  James  S.  Battle,  dissented  on  the  ground  that  the  question 
had  been  brought  up  unexpectedly,  without  either  consulting 
the  Bishop  or  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  various  parishes 
throughout  the  Diocese  for  such  an  important  change  to  be 
made.  Colonel  William  L.  DeRosset,  another  member  of  the 
committee,  also  dissented  as  to  the  boundaries  proposed,  though 
he  favored  division.  After  a  motion  to  postpone  indefinitely  the 
consideration  of  this  matter  had  been  voted  down,  and  the  minor- 
ity reports  had  been  tabled,  the  report  of  the  majority  was 
adopted  by  the  following  vote :  41  clergymen  for  adopting  report 
and  9  against  adoption;  23  parishes  for  adopting  report  and 
10  against  adoption.  Later  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted : 

"Resoi.ved,  That  a  committee  consisting  of  the  Rev.  Edward  R. 
Rich,  the  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Cheshire,  Jr.,  and  the  Rev.  E.  N.  Joyner, 
with  A.  J.  DeRosset,  M.  D.,  and  R.  H.  Battle,  Jr.,  Esq.,  be  appointed 
by  this  Convention  to  confer  witli  the  Rt.  Rev.  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese,  in  reference  to  the  division  of  tlie  Diocese  of  North  Carolina, 
and  that  they  report  to  the  next  Annual  Convention  the  result  of  the 
said  conference." 


Bisiiors  OF  North  Cakoi.ina.  2'31 

Upon  motion,  the  Kevercnd  Francis  J.  Murdoch  was  added 
to  the  above  committee.  This  commit  ice  found  that  Bishop 
Lyman  was,  as  he  had  always  been,  opposed  to  division,  but 
he  said  that  he  would  not  withhold  his  consent  to  such  division 
if  a  large  majority  of  both  orders  in  the  Diocesan  Convention, 
clergy  and  laity,  should  express  a  preference  for  that  measure. 
At  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1883  Bishop  Lyman  gave,  in  a 
full  and  strong  way,  the  grounds  of  his  objections  to  division — 
adding  that  his  predecessor,  Bishop  Atkinson,  had  formerly 
favored  division,  "but  later,  when  he  realized  more  fully  the 
many  difficulties  in  the  way,  he  entirely  changed  his  opinion 
and  became  fully  convinced  that  division  would  be  likely  to 
prove  a  disastrous  experiment."  When  the  final  vote  was  taken 
during  the  latter  Convention  on  the  question  of  division,  the 
ballot  resulted  as  follows:  42  clergymen  for  division  and  11 
against;  29  parishes  for  division  and  10  against. 

The  boundary  between  the  dioceses  was  finally  fixed  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  recommendation  by  a  committee  at  the  above 
Diocesan  Convention  of  1883.  The  committee  at  first  made  a 
report  to  which  the  Reverend  Doctor  Cheshire,  Jr.,  offered  an 
amendment.  Leave  was  later  obtained  by  this  committee  to 
alter  its  report,  and  Doctor  Cheshire  thereupon  withdrew  the 
amendment  he  had  offered,  as,  in  the  new  form,  it  obviated  his 
objections.  Amendments  as  to  boundary  were  also  offered  by 
Colonel  William  L.  DeRosset  and  the  Reverend  William  S. 
Pettigrew,  but  these  were  voted  down,  after  which  the  com- 
mittee's report  was  unanimously  adopted.  It  was  in  these 
words : 

"The  committee  appointed  to  report  a  line  of  division  between  the 
proposed  two  dioceses,  after  considering  several  lines,  and  after  a 
conference,  with  the  Bishop  present,  recommend  to  the  Convention 
the  following  line :  beginning  on  the  Virginia  line  at  the  N.  E.  corner 
of  Northampton,  and  following  the  east  line  of  said  countj',  and  of 
the  counties  of  Halifax,  Edgecombe,  Wilson  and  Johnston,  thence  the 
south  line  of  Harnett  and  the  west  line  of  Cumberland  and  Robeson 
to  the  line  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina." 


232  Bishops  of  !N"orth  Cakouna. 

Upon  recommendation  by  the  above  committee,  further  aciiou 
was  taken  by  the  Convention  by  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolution : 

"Resolved,  That,  the  General  Convention  assenting,  a  new  diocese 
be  fonned  out  of  the  present  Diocese  of  North  Carolina,  consisting  of 
the  counties  of  Hertford,  Bertie,  Martin,  Pitt,  Greene,  Wayne,  Samp- 
son, Cumberland,  and  Robeson,  and  all  the  counties  lying  between 
these  counties  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean," 

The  same  day  that  the  above  action  was  taken,  Bishop  Lyman 
gave  his  formal  consent  to  the  same  as  follows: 

To  the  Convention  of  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina: 

Dear  Brethren  :  I  hereby  give  my  canonical  consent  to  the  erec- 
tion of  a  new  Diocese  within  the  limits  of  my  present  jurisdiction  and 
with  such  metes  and  bounds  as  have  this  day  been  agreed  upon. 

T.  B.  Lyman, 
Charlotte,  N.  C,  May  26,  1883.  Bishop  of  North  Carolina. 

The  General  Convention  gave  its  sanction  to  the  above  action, 
and  thus  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina  was  divided.  We  may 
add  that  the  misgivings  of  those  good  men  who  questioned  the 
wisdom  of  the  course  have  happily  been  proved  groundless; 
for  both  the  dioceses  have  prospered  since  the  division  took 
place,  and  are  nobly  fulfilling  their  missions.  From  one  of 
them  has  also  been  severed  the  Missionary  Jurisdiction  of 
Asheville. 

The  preliminary  convention  of  the  above  new  diocese  was 
held  in  Wilmington  December  12,  1883,  when  it  assumed  as  its 
title  the  designation  Diocese  of  East  Cakolina.  Bishop  Lyman 
presided  over  this  preliminary  meeting,  and  was  invited  to  per- 
form Episcopal  duties  within  the  borders  of  the  new  Diocese 
until  a  Bishop  of  its  own  could  be  consecrated.  On  December 
13tli  (his  Convention  elected  the  Eeverend  Alfred  Augustin  Wat- 
son, D.  D.,  an  old  and  honored  presbyter  who  was  then  Rector 
of  Saint  James's  Church  in  Wilmington,  to  the  office  of  Bishop. 
He  was  accordingly  consecrated  in  Wilmington  on  April  17, 
1SS4.     The  Presiding  Bishop  at  this  consecration  was  the  ven- 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  233 

emble  and  greatly  beloved  "William  Mereer  Green  of  Mississippi, 
then  eighty-six  years  old,  a  native  of  Wilmington,  Avho  had 
served  the  early  years  of  his  priesthood  under  John  Stark 
Ravenscroft,  first  Bishop  of  North  Carolina.  There  were  also 
present  at  Bishop  Watson's  consecration  (in  addition  to  Bishops 
Green  and  Lyman)  Bishops  Neely  of  Maine,  Howe  of  South 
Carolina,  Seymour  of  Springfield,  and  Randolph  of  Virginia, 
the  last  named  being  Assistant  Bishop  at  that  time.  About 
twenty  years  after  Bishop  Watson's  consecration,  a  Bishop 
Coadjutor  was  given  him  in  the  person  of  the  Reverend  Robert 
Strange,  D.D.,  who  succeeded  to  the  full  Bishopric  of  East 
Carolina  when  Doctor  Watson  was  called  from  his  earthly 
labors,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1905. 


From  the  title-page  of  the  present  volume,  which  states  that 
these  biographies  run  "down  to  the  division  of  the  Diocese," 
which  occurred  in  1883,  one  might  expect  this  work  to  close 
with  the  date  when  such  division  was  accomplished  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina,  as  above.  But  the 
remainder  of  the  life  of  Bishop  Lyman  was  a  period  of  such 
marked  interest  that  we  shall  now  continue  this  narrative,  and 
recount  such  matters  of  note  as  occurred  bet.Aveen  1883  and  the 
date  of  his  death. 


Prior  to  1886,  the  Right  Reverend  Abram  Newkirk  Little- 
john.  Bishop  of  Long  Island,  had  been  exercising  Episcopal 
oversight  over  American  Churches  on  the  Continent  of  Europe. 
In  the  above  year  he  resigned  this  charge,  and  the  Presiding 
Bishop  appointed  Bishop  Lyman  to  succeed  him.  Requiring 
only  an  occasional  visit  abroad,  this  appointment  did  not  seri- 
ously interfere  with  Bishop  Lyman's  duties  in  North  Carolina, 
so  he  accepted  the  proffered  post. 

Some  months  after  the  American  Churches  in  Europe  had 
been  committed  to  his  charge,  Bisliop  Lyman  went  abroad  on 
an  Episcopal  visitation,  embarking  from  New  York  on  the  4th 


234  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

of  l^ovember,  1886.  After  a  voyage  of  nine  days,  he  landed 
in  England,  where  he  remained  less  than  a  week  and  then 
crossed  the  channel  to  France,  spending  some  time  among  old 
friends  in  Paris.  In  the  latter  city,  assisted  by  the  Bishop  of 
'New  York,  he  consecrated  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  The 
formal  request  to  consecrate  was  read  by  the  American  Am- 
bassador, Honorable  Eobert  M.  McLane,  while  the  sentence 
of  consecration  was  read  by  the  Eeverend  William  F.  Morgan, 
D.D.,  Rector  of  the  new  Church.  During  his  stay  in  Paris, 
Bishop  Lyman  frequently  officiated  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  that  city.  There  he  met  his  old 
friend  Pere  Hyacinth,  the  noted  reformer,  and  paid  a  visit  to 
his  congregation  on  December  5th.  Speaking  of  this  occasion 
he  said:  "The  Church  was  filled  by  a  large  and  respectable 
congregation.  I  accompanied  the  Pere  into  the  chancel,  and 
occupied  the  Episcopal  chair.  After  a  very  spirited  service, 
the  Pere  entered  the  pulpit,  and  delivered  a  discourse  of  very 
great  eloquence  and  power.  At  the  close  of  the  service,  I  as- 
cended the  altar  steps,  and  pronounced  the  benediction.  I  was 
much  gratified  by  this  opportunity  to  witness  the  work  carried 
on  by  this  zealous  reformer,  in  the  face  of  so  much  opposition 
and  so  many  discouragements.  I  saw  a  good  deal  of  him  while 
I  was  in  Paris,  and  became  thoroughly  convinced  that  his  work 
has  not  been  properly  understood,  nor  duly  appreciated.  I 
can  but  hope  that  he  will  soon  meet  with  a  much  larger  measure 
of  sympathy,  as  the  valuable  results  of  his  work  become  more 
conspicuously  apparent." 

Going  from  Paris  to  Geneva,  Bishop  Lyman  officiated  in 
the  latter  city  on  several  occasions  for  the  benefit  of  American 
and  English  families  there  residing.  He  then  went  to  Dresden, 
where,  in  addition  to  the  usual  services,  he  confirmed  a  class 
of  fourteen  in  Saint  John's  Church.  The  latter  Church,  which 
had  been  completed  for  some  time,  was  consecrated  by  him  on 
Saint  John  the  Evangelist's  Day,  December  27th.  In  the 
latter  services  he  was  assisted  by  a  priest  of  the  Greek  Church, 


Bishops  of  Nokth  CAiiOLiNA.  235 

the  Reverend  Mr.  Siuinioff  and  by  several  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  England  from  the  neighboring  Church  of  All  Saints, 
an  English  mission,  -where  he  also  held  services  during  his  stay 
in  Dresden.  At  Xice  he  preached  on  ]!^ew  Year's  Day,  1887, 
and  laid  the  corner-stone  of  a  church  ihere  on  January  5th.  He 
then  went  to  Florence,  and  there  met  many  friends  who  had  at- 
tended services  held  in  that  place  by  him  twenty-five  years  be- 
fore, when  he  lived  there.  On  going  to  Rome,  also  a  former 
place  of  residence,  so  many  changes  were  apparent  that  some 
neighborhoods  in  that  city,  with  which  he  had  once  been  famil- 
iar, were  difficult  to  recognize.  After  a  stay  of  several  days 
duration  in  Rome,  Bishop  Lyman  returned  to  England  and 
there  participated  in  a  ceremony  of  great  interest,  recorded  by 
him  as  follows:  "On  Friday,  February  4th,  it  afforded  me 
much  gratification  to  be  present  in  the  Private  Chapel  of  Lam- 
beth Palace,  and  take  part  in  the  interesting  service,  commemo- 
rative of  the  consecration,  in  that  chapel,  one  hundred  years 
before,  of  the  first  Bishops  of  Pennsylvania  and  Xew  York. 
The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  presided,  and  conducted  the 
service,  assisted  by  the  other  Bishops  present.  The  Epistle 
was  read  by  me,  and  the  Gospel  by  the  Bishop  of  London.  A 
very  fitting  and  appropriate  address  was  delivered  by  the  Bishop 
of  ISTew  York ;  and  the  Bishop  of  Rochester  assisted  in  the  com- 
munion service.  It  was  my  privilege,  while  in  London,  to 
share  the  kind  hospitality  of  the  Archbishop,  and  to  receive 
many  courtesies  from  persons  of  prominence  and  distinction." 

On  Thursday,  February  10,  1887,  Bishop  Lyman  embarked 
from  Liverpool,  on  his  return  voyage,  and  arrived  in  iSTew  York 
on  the  19th  of  that  month.  In  I^ew  York  and  Baltimore,  on 
his  homeward  journey,  he  held  services,  and  arrived  in  Raleigh 
on  March  3d. 

In  1888  Bishop  Lyman's  health  was  impaired  temporarily, 
but  he  continued  his  labors  whenever  able.  On  May  6th,  in  that 
year,  he  ordained  to  the  priesthood,  in  Trinity  Church,  Ashe- 
ville.  a  deacon  with  a  given  name  calculated  to  recall  recollec- 


236  Bishops  of  JSTokth  Carolina. 

tions  of  the  first  Bishop  of  N^orth  Carolina.  This  clergyman,  the 
Beverend  John  Bavenscroft  Harding,  came  of  a  family  whose 
members  have  borne  no  small  part  in  building  up  the  Church 
in  North  Carolina,  being  a  son  of  the,  Beverend  Israel  Harding 
and  a  nephew  of  the  Beverend  Nathaniel  Harding.  Almost 
immediately  after  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood,  the  Beverend 
John  Bavenscroft  Harding  was  transferred  to  the  Diocese  of 
Missouri.  He  is  now  Bector  of  Trinity  Church  in  Utica,  and 
President  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Diocese  of  Central 
New  York. 

In  the  Summer  of  1888,  Bishop  Lyman  attended  the  Third 
Lambeth  Conference,  this  being  the  second  gathering  of  the 
kind  at  which  he  was  present  by  invitation  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  He  embarked  from  New  York  on  June  20th, 
and  reached  Liverpool  on  the  29th.  From  the  latter  city,  on 
the  day  of  his  arrival,  he  proceeded  to  London,  reaching  there 
just  in  time  to  participate  in  a  religious  service  preliminary  to 
the  Lambeth  Conference.  On  the  day  after  his  arrival  in  Lon- 
don, he  went  to  Canterbury,  there  taking  part  in  services  at  the 
Cathedral,  and  also  attending  a  garden  party  in  the  beautiful 
grounds  of  the  Deanery.  On  July  2d,  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
there  was  a  notable  gathering  of  Bishops  and  other  clergy,  and 
a  sermon  on  the  objects  of  the  Conference  was  preached  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Next  day  the  formal  opening  serv- 
ices of  the  business  sessions  were  held  in  the  Chapel  of  Lambeth 
Palace,  when  the  Bight  Beverend  Henry  Benjamin  Whipple, 
Bishop  of  Minnesota,  delivered  a  sermon.  Immediately  there- 
after the  business  sessions  began  in  the  library  of  the  Palace. 
Speaking  of  the  meeting  in  general,  Bishop  Lyman  said:  "We 
had  about  one  hundred  and  forty  Bishops  present  from  nearly 
every  part  of  the  world  to  participate  in  these  meetings.  .  .  . 
A  wonderful  degree  of  harmony  and  good  feeling  prevailed, 
and  I  cannot  doubt  that  the  fruits  of  this  great  gathering  will 
long  be  seen  in  the  manifestations,  throughout  the  Church,  of 
increased  unity  and  zeal,  of  mutual  forbearance,  and  kindly 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  237 

sympathy  and  love.  The  closing  service,  which  was  one  of  deep 
interest  and  solemnity,  took  place  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  Satur- 
day, July  28th.  This  was  the  largest  of  all  our  meetings,  and 
drew  together  also  an  immense  concourse  of  the  clergy  and 
laity.  The  sermon  v/as  preached  by  the  Archbishop  of  York, 
and  the  Holy  Communion  was  administered  to  five  or  six  hun- 
dred persons.  Thus  closed  this  important  Conference,  and  the 
results  of  these  deliberations  will  be  felt  in  every  part  of  the 
world.  It  gave  to  all  who  were  able  to  be  present  a  very  high 
idea  of  the  strength  and  dignity,  the  widespread  activity  and 
usefulness  of  the  great  Anglican  Communion." 

During  Bishop  Lyman's  stay  in  London  he  preached  in  Saint 
Paul's  Cathedral,  in  the  Royal  Chapel  Savoy,  and  in  several 
important  parish  churches.  In  addition  to  many  invitations 
accepted  by  him  from  private  sources,  he  (with  other  visiting 
Bishops)  was  cordially  received  and  hospitably  entertained  at 
Cambridge,  Durham,  York  and  Lincoln,  later  going  to  Ireland, 
where  he  was  the  guest  of  the  Archbishops  of  Dublin  and 
Armagh,  and  of  the  Bishops  of  Cushel  and  Cork.  Eeturning 
to  England,  he  visited  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  and  Bristol, 
and  preached  in  Gloucester  Cathedral  on  September  23d.  Eai-ly 
in  October,  he  left  England  to  enter  once  more  upon  his  duties 
as  Bishop  of  the  American  Churches  on  the  Continent  of 
Europe.  During  the  months  of  October,  November  and  De- 
cember, he  visited  the  cities  of  Geneva,  Dresden,  Florence  and 
Rome.  On  December  13th,  at  Nice,  he  consecrated  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  beautiful  edifice  whose  corner-stone  he 
had  laid  during  a  former  visit.  From  Nice  he  went  to  Paris, 
where  he  twice  held  confirmation  services  in  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  and  ordained  a  priest.  Going  from  Paris  to 
London,  and  thence  to  Liverpool,  he  embarked  from  the  city 
last  named  on  January  2,  1889.  About  this  time,  the  Bishop's 
health  again  gave  way  to  some  extent,  sleeplessness  being  added 
to  what  he  terms  a  "mysterious  malady,"  but  he  never  ceased 
work  on  account  of  the  indisposition  from  which  he  sufi^ered. 


238  Bishops  of  N'oeth  Carolina. 

After  Bishop  Lyman's  return  from  Europe  early  in  1880,  lie 
went  about  his  visitations  with  his  accustomed  zeal.  On  Janu- 
ary 21st,  in  the  folloAving  year,  he  resigned  his  charge  as  Bishop 
of  the  American  Churches  in  Europe,  saying  that  he  did  this 
with  reluctance  owing  to  the  deep  interest  he  felt  in  foreign 
work,  and  the  great  degree  of  personal  pleasure  he  had  experi- 
enced in  discharging  the  duties  of  that  office.  He  believed, 
however,  that,  owing  to  his  advancing  years,  justice  to  ITorth 
Carolina  required  the  step. 

During  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1889,  the  Beverend 
Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.,  offered  a  series  of  resolutions  set- 
ting forth  the  propriety  of  holding  the  next  Convention  in 
May,  1890,  at  Tarborough,  and  at  the  same  time  celebrating  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  first  efforts  to  re-organize 
the  Church  in  North  Carolina  at  that  town  in  1790.  The  reso- 
lutions further  provided  that  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina 
should  be  invited  to  participate,  and  a  committee  should  be 
appointed  to  confer  with  a  similar  committee  from  that  Diocese 
in  arranging  a  joint  celebration.  These  resolutions  being  duly 
adopted.  Bishop  Lyman  named,  as  members  of  the  committee, 
the  Reverend  Messrs.  Jarvis  Buxton,  "William  S.  Pettigrew, 
Matthias  M.  Marshall,  and  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.,  to- 
gether with  the  Honorable  Kemp  P.  Battle,  the  Honorable  John 
S.  Henderson,  Mr.  Samuel  S.  Nash,  Judge  Frederick  Philips, 
and  Mr.  Charles  E.  Johnson.  Mr.  Nash  was  appointed  a 
special  commissioner  to  convey  a  copy  of  these  proceedings  to 
the  Council  of  the  Diocese  of  East  Carolina.  The  latter  body 
passed  resolutions  accepting  the  invitation,  and  Bishop  Watson 
appointed  as  a  committee,  on  the  part  of  East  Carolina,  the 
Reverend  Messrs.  N.  Collin  Hughes,  Robert  Brent  Drane, 
Robert  Strange,  and  Nathaniel  Harding,  together  with  Colonel 
William  L.  DeRosset,  Mr.  F.  R.  Rose,  Mr.  Wilson  G.  Lamb, 
Colonel  John  Wilder  Atkinson,  and  Mr.  DuBrutz  Cutlar.  In 
accordance  with  arrangements  made  by  the  joint  committee 
from  the  two  Dioceses,  the  celebration  at  Tarborough  continued 
for  three  days.  May  16th-18th,  1890.     The  delegates  were  wel- 


Bishops  of  Nokth  Carolina,  239 

cuiiK  d  oil  belialf  of  the  people  of  Tarborougli  by  Judge  Frederick 
Pliilips,  jtnd  Bisliop  Lymau  presided  over  llic  exercises.  Many 
valuable  historical  addresses  were  also  delivered  as  follows: 
"The  Church  in  Connection  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  Kace,"  hy 
the  Honorable  Alfred  Moore  Waddell ;  "The  Church— Its  Cath- 
olic Character,"  by  the  Reverend  IST.  Collin  Hughes;  "The 
Church  in  the  Province  of  North  Carolina,"  by  the  Reverend 
Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr. ;  "The  Colonial  Laymen  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  North  Carolina,"  by  the  Honorable 
Kemp  P.  Battle;  "Colonial  Parishes  and  Church  Schools,"  by 
the  Reverend  Robert  Brent  Drane;  "The  Conventions  of  1790- 
1794  and  the  Bishop-elect  [Charles  Pettigrew],"  by  the  Rev- 
erend William  S.  Pettigrew;  "Decay  and  Revival,  1800-1830," 
by  the  Reverend  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr. ;  "The  First  Three 
Bishops — Raveuscroft,  Ives  and  Atkinson,"  by  the  Right  Rev- 
erend Alfred  A.  "Watson,  Bishop  of  East  Carolina ;  "Missionary 
and  Educational  Entex'prises,"  by  the  Reverend  Jarvis  Bux- 
ton; "The  Work  of  the  Church  in  Hospitals,  Homes,  Sister- 
hoods, and  Orphanages,"  by  the  Reverend  Thomas  M.  N. 
George;  "The  Church  in  North  Carolina — Its  Present  Condi- 
tion and  Prospects,"  by  the  Reverend  Matthias  M.  Marshall; 
"Duty  of  the  Church  with  reference  to  Unity  among  Chris- 
tians," by  the  Reverend  Francis  J.  Murdoch ;  and  "White  Haven 
Church  and  the  Reverend  Robert  Johnston  Miller,"  by  the 
Reverend  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.  These  addresses  (with 
reprints  of  the  Journals  of  1790-1794)  were  published  in  book 
form  in  1892,  under  the  editorial  supervision  of  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Cheshire,  Jr.,  now  Bishop,  and  make  an  interesting  and 
instructive  volume  of  456  pages,  its  title  being  Church  History 
in  North  Carolina.  As  early  as  1882,  Doctor  Cheshire  had 
published  a  pamphlet  on  the  early  efforts  to  organize  a  diocese 
in  North  Carolina,  that  monograph  being  entitled  The  Early 
Conventions,  held  at  Tawborough*  Anno  Domini  1790,  1793 
and  179.',. 

*  The  name  of  this  town  is  now  Tarborough. 


240  Bishops  of  ISTokth  Carolina. 

Thougli  the  early  Bishops  of  the  Diocese  used  signet  rings 
which  were  emblematical  of  their  office,  it  was  not  until  1890 
that  the  Diocesan  Convention  adopted  an  official  seal,  this  being 
the  same  which  is  now  in  use. 

On  January  15,  1891,  Bishop  Lyman  sailed  from  'New  York 
to  Bermuda,  accompanied  by  one  of  his  daughters,  but  re- 
mained only  a  short  time,  reaching  New  York  once  more  on 
February  8th.  Later  on  in  that  year,  on  May  15th,  when  the 
Diocesan  Convention  of  North  Carolina  was  in  session  at  Ashe- 
ville,  and  while  the  Bishop  was  absent  from  the  chair,  Mr. 
Frank  P.  Hayv/ood,  Jr.,  a  delegate  from  Christ  Church  in 
Raleigh,  oif ered  the  following  resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee,  to  consist  of  three  clergymen  and 
two  laymen,  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  Convention  to  report 
to  this  Convention  an  appropriate  service  to  be  held  by  the  Church  in 
commemoration  of  the  ordination  of  our  Bishop  to  the  priesthood, 
which  took  place  December  19th,  1841." 

Upon  the  passage  of  this  resolution  the  chair  appointed,  as 
members  of  the  committee,  the  Eeverend  A.  Burtis  Hunter, 
the  Reverend  Bennett  Smedes,  the  Reverend  Joseph  W.  Murphy, 
the  Honorable  Joseph  B,  Batchelor  and  Mr.  Frank  P.  Hay- 
wood, Jr.  Through  its  chairman,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Hunter, 
this  committee  later  asked  to  be  continued,  with  permission  to 
print  its  report.  The  celebration  contemplated  by  the  above 
resolution  took  place  in  the  city  of  Raleigh,  at  both  the  Church 
of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  Christ  Church  on  December  19th- 
20th,  1891.  On  Saturday,  December  19th,  the  ceremonies  were 
begun  in  the  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  The  choir,  fol- 
lowed by  the  clergy  with  the  Bishop,  entered  the  church,  singing 
a  processional  hymn.  Then  a  beautiful  service  was  held,  in- 
cluding an  address  by  Bishop  Lyman,  reviewing  his  past  ex- 
periences throughout  the  fifty  years  of  his  ministry.  The 
music  was  rendered  jointly  by  the  choirs  of  Christ  Church  and 
the  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd.     At  the  conclusion  of  ths 


Bishops  of  Xortu  Cakolina.  241 

ceremonies,  the  Reverend  Doctor  Mtitthias  M.  Marshall,  Rector 
of  Christ  Church  and  President  of  the  Standing  Committee 
of  the  Diocese,  delivered  an  address,  and  closed  his  remarks  by 
presenting  the  Bishop  wiih  a  beautiful  Pastoral  Staff,  made  of 
ebony  with  massive  silver  ornamentations,  this  being  a  gift 
from  his  admirers  among  the  clergy  and  laity  throughout  the 
Diocese.  This  staff  is  now  owned  by  the  Diocese,  and  is  still 
used  on  occasions  of  special  ceremony  by  Bishop  Cheshire,  who 
succeeded  Bishop  Lyman  in  the  Episcopate.  During  the  course 
of  his  remarks,  when  presenting  this  staff  to  Bishop  Lyman, 
Doctor  Marshall  said: 

"In  an  age  of  'restless  rationalists  and  self-sufficient  critics,'  at  a 
time  when  tlirougliout  the  laud  there  is  such  a  lamentable  and,  as  we 
believe,  dangerous  depreciation  of  rightly  constituted  authority  both 
in  Church  and  State,  we  desire  to  bear  uumistakable  and  visible  testi- 
mony to  our  reverence  for  your  apostolic  authority,  and  of  our  ready 
and  willing  obedience  to  your  godly  admonitions  and  counsels  as  our 
chief  pastor,  under  Christ,  of  which  this  ancient  symbol  is  a  token 
and  pledge.  We  would  have  this  staff  first  of  all,  Right  Reverend 
Father,  to  mean  this. 

"And  again,  sir — if  it  be  not  unseemly  thus  to  speak  in  your  hon- 
ored presence — we  would  have  it  bear  witness,  after  some  sort,  of 
our  gratitude  to  God  for  the  zeal  and  fidelity  and  abundant  labors,  in 
season  and  out  of  season  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  all  the  flock  over 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseer,  that  have  so  conspicu- 
ously characterized  all  the  years  of  your  ministry  in  our  midst. 

"We  of  the  clergy  particularly — thrown  by  virtue  of  our  official 
relations  into  more  intimate  contact  with  our  chief  pastors  than  are 
others — know,  as  the  public  cannot  know,  the  incessant  anxieties  and 
constant  cares  and  onerous  responsibilities  inseparable  from  the 
office  of  a  Bishop  in  the  Church  of  God,  especially  in  a  Diocese  so 
large  and  so  largely  missionary  as  this ;  and  we  know  too,  both  clergy 
and  laity,  how  bravely  and  cheerfully,  through  good  report  and 
through  evil,  through  stress  of  weather,  and  not  infrequently  in 
bodily  suffering,  our  beloved  Bishop  has  borne  them  all. 

"And  if,  sir,  now  or  at  any  time,  in  the  near  future  or  in  the  dis- 
tant, this  jubilee  memorial  and  token  of  the  sympathy  and  gi'atitude 
and  affection  of  your  Diocese  shall  serve  to  lighten,  by  so  much  as  a 
feather's  weight,  the  burden  that  you  must  needs  bear  to  the  end,  we 
shall  thankfully  feel  that  this  day's  doings  have  not  been  altogether 
in  vain. 


242  Bishops  of  jSToktii  Carolina. 

"And  as  meu  who  have  passed  their  'three-score  and  ten'  are  wont 
to  lean  upon  staves  for  physical  support,  so,  when  the  shadows  of 
life's  declining  day  lengthen  across  your  pathway,  and  you  enter  the 
dark  valley  where  every  earthly  pilgrim,  high  or  low,  must  lay  his 
weary  burden  down,  may  this  memorial  of  our  love  be  to  you  the 
grateful  assurance  that  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  your 
Diocese  the  prayers  of  your  people  will  go  up  with  your  own  to  the 
Good  Shepherd  of  all  the  Christian  fold  in  the  tender  terms  of  the 
Pastoral  Psalm  r'Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil ;  for  Thou  art  with  me ;  Thy  i-od  and  Thy 
staff  they  comfort  me.'    Amen." 

On  the  evening  of  December  19tli,  after  tlie  presentation  of 
tlie  above  token,  Bishop  Lyman  opened  the  doors  of  his  home 
to  callers,  and  some  himdreds  attended  for  the  purpose  of  tender- 
ing their  congratulations  and  good  wishes.  Describing  this  re- 
ception in  its  issue  of  December  20th,  the  Kaleigh  N^ews  mid 
Observer  said: 

"Yesterday  evening  the  elegant  mansion  of  Bishop  Lyman  was 
thrown  open  to  his  friends,  and  became  the  scene  of  much  enjoyment 
to  those  who  attended  his  reception.  It  was  the  pleasant  ending  of  a 
day  that  was  memorable  in  his  life,  and  which  was  marked  by  an 
episode  that  gave  him  rare  gratification. 

"His  numerous  friends  came  in  throngs  to  congratulate  him  on  the 
completion  of  fifty  years'  service  in  the  ministry.  Many  ladies  and 
gentlemen  were  present,  and  there  was  a  continuous  stream  passing 
in  and  out  all  the  evening.  The  number  who  attended  was  estimated 
at  four  hundred. 

"The  beautiful  picture  gallery,  which  is  so  much  admired,  was  par- 
ticularly a  scene  of  lovliness.  Among  the  gentlemen  we  observed  His 
Excellency  the  Governor,  Hon.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  Attorney-General 
Davidson,  Judge  Davis,  Mayor  Badger,  President  Winston,  and  Gen- 
eral W.  R.  Cox.  Besides  these  were  the  visiting  clergy,  and  others 
from  a  distance.  In  the  parlors  the  ladies  were  received  by  Mrs. 
R.  S.  Tucker,  Mrs.  Alfred  W.  Haywood,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Lewis,  Mrs.  Pit- 
tenger,  Mx*s.  Hunter,  Mrs.  Charles  Root,  Miss  Van  Rensselaer,  Miss 
Hawkins,  Miss  Hinsdale,  Miss  Andrews,  and  Miss  Hurton. 

"And  after  the  guests  had  enjoyed  somewhat  of  the  social  pleasures, 
they  formed  their  way  into  the  apartment  where  Mrs.  Hinsdale,  Mrs. 
Frank  II.  Cameron,  Mrs.  W.  T.  McGee,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Hawkins,  Mrs. 
William  T.  Tucker,  Mrs.  Thomas  Badger,  Mrs.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  and 
Miss  Lucy  Battle  took  charge  of  them  and  introduced  them  to  an 
elegant  repast. 

"And  so  the  evening  wore  on,  until  the  hour  when  the  pleasures  of 
the  day  were  brought  to  a  close." 


BisHors  OF  North  Carolina.  248 

On  Sunday,  December  20tli  (being  the  day  following  the 
above  ceremonies  and  festivities),  religious  services  were  con- 
tinued in  honor  of  Bishop  Lyman's  fiftieth  anniversary,  these 
being  held  in  Christ  Church.  The  regular  services  were  con- 
ducted by  the  Reverend  Messrs.  William  Walker  and  I.  McK. 
Pittenger,  and  addresses  were  delivered  by  the  Honorable  Kemp 
P.  Battle,  the  Reverend  Josph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.,  and  Mr. 
Frank  S.  Spruill.  After  these  addresses,  the  choir  rendered 
an  anthem,  and  the  evening's  exercises  were  concluded  with  the 
apostolic  benediction  by  Bishop  Lyman. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1892,  the  semi-centennial  of  Saint 
Mary's  School  was  celebrated  in  Raleigh,  though  Bishop  Lyman 
(then  being  in  >Tew  York)  could  not  take  part  in  it.  Saint 
Mary's  was  first  opened  on  May  12,  1842 ;  and,  when  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  that  event  came.  May  12,  1892,  it  was  decided 
to  postpone  the  celebration  until  commencement  week,  which 
occurred  in  the  following  month.  These  exercises  began  in 
Christ  Church  on  June  5th  with  a  sermon,  appropriate  to  the 
occasion,  by  the  Reverend  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.  On 
Monday  evening,  at  the  school,  a  general  reception  to  friends 
of  the  institution  was  tendered  by  its  Rector,  the  Reverend  Ben- 
nett Smedes,  D.D.  Tuesday  evening  a  concert,  complimentary 
to  the  alumnae,  was  given;  and  the  annual  concert  took  place 
on  Wednesday  evening.  The  regular  commencement  exercises 
occurred  Thursday.  At  this  semi-centennial  celebration  were 
several  ladies  who  had  been  among  the  first  pupils  of  the  insti- 
tution in  1842. 

On  June  28,  1892,  Bishop  Lyman  (for  the  first  time  since 
his  graduation  in  1837)  paid  a  visit  to  his  alma  mater,  Hamil- 
ton College,  at  Clinton,  Xew  York,  being  the  oldest  alumnus 
present  on  that  occasion.  He  was  received  with  distinguished 
honors,  and  presided  over  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  alumni 
association.  He  was  also  chairman  of  another  meeting,  held 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  closing  these  exercises  with  the 
apostolic  benediction.     The  next   day  the  honorary  degree  of 


244  Bishops  of  JS'orth  Carolina. 

Doctor  of  Canon  Laws  was  conferred  on  him,  it  being  tlie  first 
time  Hamilton  College  had  ever  given  this  degree.  Many  years 
before,  in  1856  (as  already  mentioned)  he  had  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  the  College  of  Saint  James, 
in  Maryland;  and  the  University  of  North  Carolina  had  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  in  1887. 

Bishop  Lyman  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife,  to  whom 
he  was  married  by  Bishop  Whittingham  on  the  24th  of  June, 
1845,  and  who  was  the  mother  of  all  of  his  children,  was  Anna 
Margaret  Albert,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  Albert,  of  Baltimore. 
This  estimable  lady  came  with  her  husband  to  ISTorth  Caro- 
lina, and  spent  the  latter  years  of  her  life  in  Raleigh,  where 
she  died  on  the  13th  of  April,  1889,  mourned  by  an  extensive 
circle  of  friends.  Her  remains  were  carried  to  her  former 
home  in  Baltimore  for  interment.  The  six  children  of  Bishop 
and  Mrs.  Lyman  were  as  follows : 

I.  Albert  Benedict  Lyman,  M.D.,  LL.M.  (Dublin),  L.  R. 
C.  S.,  now  deceased,  who  resided  in  Baltimore,  and  was  a 
scholar  and  linguist  of  rare  attainments,  spending  many  years 
in  study  at  various  European  universities,  and  serving  as  a 
Surgeon  in  the  Red  Cross  Society  on  the  German  side  during 
the  Franco-Prussian  "War;  he  married  Mary  Jane  Buckett,  of 
Oxford,  England,  and  left  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 

II.  Frances  Augusta  Lyman,  now  deceased,  who  married 
the  Honorable  William  Ruffin  Cox,  former  Brigadier  General 
in  the  Confederate  Army  and  afterwards  Judge,  member  of 
Congress,  Grand  Master  of  Masons,  etc.,  by  whom  she  left  two 
sons. 

III.  William  Whittingham  Lyman,  of  St.  Helena,  California, 
who  married  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Nolan  (born  Amis),  by  whom  he 
has  two  sons. 

IV.  Theodore  Benedict  Lyman,  of  Alameda,  California,  who 
has  been  married  three  times  and  has  two  daughters — one  by 
his  first  wife,  Emily  Cunningham ;  and  one  by  his  second,  Kate 
O'Donnell. 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  245 

V.  Augustus  Julian  Lyman,  of  Asheville,  North  Carolina, 
who  graduated  from  Trinity  College,  at  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  lattei*  city,  later  being 
licensed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  North  Carolina;  he  married 
Julia  Ellsworth,  and  has  one  son.  His  wife  is  a  daughter  of 
the  late  Pinckmey  Webster  Ellsworth,  M.D.,  an  eminent  physi- 
cian and  Army  Surgeon,  who  was  a  son  of  Governor  Ellsworth 
of  Connecticut  and  grandson  of  Chief  Justice  Ellsworth  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court. 

VI.  Anna  Cornelia  Roma  Lyman,  who  married  Robert  L. 
Niles,  of  New  York,  a  broker  and  member  of  the  Stock  Ex- 
change in  that  city,  by  whom  she  has  three  sons. 

When  he  was  nearly  seventy-eight  years  old,  February  6, 
1893,  Bishop  Lyman  was  married  to  his  second  wife,  Susan 
Boone  Robertson,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  this  lady 
being  the  daughter  of  Alexander  Robertson,  a  zealous  layman 
of  the  Diocese  of  South  Carolina,  and  at  one  time  senior  warden 
of  Saint  Michael's  Church  in  Charleston. 

At  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  1893,  a  committee,  which 
had  been  appointed  to  take  the  matter  into  consideration,  re- 
ported a  resolution  (duly  adopted)  wliicli  set  forth  that,  in 
view  of  the  growth  of  the  Diocese,  and  the  additional  work 
devolving  upon  Bishop  Lyman  in  his  old  age,  the  office  of  As- 
sistant Bishop  should  be  created.  It  was  also  resolved  that, 
after  dispatching  business  of  a  general  nature,  this  Convention 
should  adjourn  to  meet  on  the  27th  of  June,  when  an  Assistant 
Bishop  should  be  chosen  by  ballot.  Accordingly,  on  May  19th, 
the  adjournment  took  place,  and  the  same  body  re-assembled 
in  Christ  Church  at  Raleigh  on  the  27th  of  June.  The  names 
presented  for  consideration,  as  qualified  for  the  office  of  Assist- 
ant Bishop,  were  the  Reverend  Nathaniel  Harding,  the  Rev- 
erend Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Jr.,  the  Reverend  Thomas  M. 
N.  George,  the  Reverend  Francis  J.  Murdoch,  the  Reverend 
Matthias  M.  Marshall,  the  Reverend  Robert  S.  Barrett,  and 
the  Reverend  Arthur  S.  Lloyd.     On  the  thirty-ninth  ballot,  the 


246  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

clergy  elected  the  Eeverend  Doctor  Cheshire,  Jr.,  and  presented 
him  to  the  lay  delegates  as  a  candidate  for  Assistant  Bishop, 
this  election  being  duly  ratified.  On  October  15th,  in  the  same 
year.  Doctor  Cheshire  was  consecrated  as  Assistant  Bishop  of 
JS'orth  Carolina  in  Calvary  Church  in  his  native  town  of  Tar- 
borough.  His  father,  the  Reverend  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  Sr., 
was  then  Rector  Emeritus  of  that  Church,  and  had  actively 
served  there  over  fifty  years.  Two  months  later,  upon  the 
death  of  Bishop  Lyman,  the  Assistant  Bishop  became  Bishop 
of  ISTorth  Carolina.  Though  I^orth  Carolina  has  furnished 
many  Bishops  to  other  Dioceses,  Doctor  Cheshire  was  the  first 
native  North  Carolinian  ever  elevated  to  the  Episcopate  within 
the  borders  of  the  State.  He  was  born  on  March  27,  1850,  and 
graduated  from  Trinity  College,  at  Hartford,  Connecticut.  Later 
he  practiced  law,  and  then  entered  the  sacred  ministry.  For 
many  years  he  was  Historiographer  of  the  Diocese,  and  is  now 
the  highest  living  authority  on  the  ecclesiastical  history  of 
North  Carolina.  Happily  for  the  Diocese,  his  maturer  years 
are  blessed  with  robust  health,  and  the  Church  will  no  doubt 
profit  by  his  labors  for  many  years  to  come.  Two  of  his  daugh- 
ters have  volunteered  to  aid  the  Church's  work  in  foreign  mis- 
sion fields  and  are  now  stationed  in  China. 

As  it  has  been  stated  above  that  Bishop  Cheshire  was  the  first 
native  North  Carolinian  ever  elevated  to  the  Episcopate  Avithin 
the  State,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  add  that  the  present  Bishops 
of  all  three  North  Carolina  dioceses — Cheshire  of  North  Caro- 
lina, Strange  of  East  Carolina,  and  Horner  of  Asheville — 
are,  without  exception,  "native  and  to  the  manner  born." 

During  the  course  of  Bishop  Lyman's  Episcopate,  he  aided 
in  consecrating  the  following  Bishops :  John  Henry  Ducachet 
Wing-field  of  Northern  California,  December  2,  1874;  Samuel 
Isaac  Joseph  Schereschewsky  of  Shanghai  in  China,  October 
31,  1877;  David  Buel  Knickerbacker  of  Indiana,  October  14, 
1883;  Alfred  Augustin  Watson  of  East  Carolina,  April  17, 
1884;  William  Paret  of  Maryland,  January  8,  1885;  Cleland 


Bishops  of  North  Carolina.  247 

Kinloch  Nelson  of  Georgia  (later  translated  to  Diocese  of  At- 
lanta), February  24,  1892;  Lemuel  Henry  Wells  of  Spokane 
in  the  State  of  "Washington,  December  16,  1892 ;  John  McKim 
of  Tokyo  in  Japan,  June  14,  1893 ;  Frederick  Rogers  Graves  of 
Shanghai  in  China,  June  14,  1893;  Ellison  Capers  of  South 
Carolina,  July  20,  1893 ;  and  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire  of  North 
Carolina,  October  15,  1893. 

When  the  labors  of  Bishop  Lyman  were  lightened  by  the 
consecration  of  so  zealous  and  untiring  a  co-worker  as  Doctor 
Cheshire  as  Assistant  Bishop,  it  was  hoped  that  this  step  would 
prolong  the  life  of  the  aged  prelate,  but  these  hopes  proved 
vain.  In  the  month  following  Bishop  Cheshire's  consecration 
he  was  present  with  Bishop  Lyman  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board 
of  Managers  of  the  Thompson  Orphanage  in  Charlotte.  While 
in  that  city,  on  November  30th — that  being  Saint  Andrew's 
Day  and  also  the  time  set  by  the  President  and  the  Governor 
for  Thanksgiving  Day — Bishop  Lyman  delivered  a  sermon  of 
great  force  on  the  duty  of  the  people  not  only  to  obey,  but  to 
honor,  "the  powers  that  be"  in  various  departments  of  the  civil 
governments  of  both  State  and  nation.  When  in  Charlotte,  on 
this  occasion,  he  mentioned  to  his  friends  the  fact  that  December 
11th,  less  than  a  fortnight  thereafter,  would  be  the  twentieth 
anniversary  of  his  consecration  to  the  Episcopate,  and  expressed 
the  wish  that  special  services,  in  commemoration  of  this  event, 
should  be  held  in  Raleigh,  where  the  consecration  had  taken 
place.  Upon  hearing  this.  Bishop  Cheshire  canceled  several 
of  his  own  appointments  and  went  to  Raleigh  to  take  part  in 
the  ceremony.  Upon  his  arrival  he  was  shocked  to  find  the 
venerable  Bishop  Lyman  in  a  great  state  of  bodily  weakness, 
and  perceived  at  once  that  he  was  not  in  a  condition  to  take 
part  in  the  approaching  celebration.  With  his  usual  resolu- 
tion, however,  Bishop  Lyman  expressed  his  determination  to 
be  present  at  the  commemorative  services,  and  at  once  set  about 
preparing  an  address  which  he  expected  to  deliver.  He  grew 
weaker,  however,  and  felt  forced  to  summon  his  family  physi- 


248  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

cian,  wlio  at  once  informed  him  that  serious  consequences  might 
result  if  he  made  this  effort,  and  advised  him  to  take  to  the 
bed.  The  anniversary  of  the  Bishop's  consecration  was  cele- 
brated at  8  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  December  10th  (the  second 
Sunday  in  Advent)  at  Christ  Church,  where  the  consecration 
had  taken  place  in  1873.  Among  the  Bishops  and  other  clergy 
present  were  the  Right  Reverend  Joseph  Blount  Cheshire,  the 
Right  Reverend  Alfred  A.  "Watson,  and  the  Reverend  Doctors 
Matthias  M.  Marshall,  Bennett  Smedes,  and  I.  McK.  Pittenger. 
With  the  consent  of  Bishop  Lyman,  Bishop  Cheshire  requested 
Bishop  Watson  to  preside.  After  evening  prayer  by  Doctors 
Smedes  and  Pittenger,  addresses  were  delivered  by  Bishop 
Cheshire,  Bishop  Watson,  and  Doctor  Pittenger;  and  Doctor 
Marshall  read  a  contemporaneous  newspaper  account  of  the 
consecration  which  was  being  commemorated.  On  the  evening 
of  the  next  day  (the  anniversary  proper).  Bishop  Lyman  gave  a 
reception  at  his  home;  but,  being  still  confined  to  his  bed,  was 
unable  personally  to  receive  the  callers.  Bishop  Cheshire,  hav- 
ing determined  to  resume  his  own  visitations,  took  leave  of 
him  at  the  end  of  the  evening.  Referring  to  this  farewell  inter- 
view, he  later  said:  "His  last  words  to  me  were  of  kindly  per- 
sonal regard  and  fatherly  counsel,  with  assurances  of  his  full 
approval  of  whatever  I  might  feel  that  the  interests  of  the 
Church  called  upon  me  to  do  when  I  could  not  consult  with 
him,  together  with  a  special  request  that  I  would,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, supply  his  place  in  one  or  two  appointments  which  he 
could  not  fulfill  in  person." 

Bishop  Lyman  died  on  the  13th  of  December,  1893,  just  three 
days  after  the  celebration  of  the  twentieth  anniversary  of  his 
consecration  to  the  Episcopate.  His  funeral  took  place  on  De- 
cember 15th  from  Christ  Church.  The  remains  were  borne  from 
his  late  residence  to  the  Church  on  the  shoulders  of  eight 
students  from  Saint  Augustine's  School,  "who  requested  the 
honor  of  being  the  bearers  of  the  mortal  remains  of  him  who 
had  so  deeply  at  heart  the  interests  of  the  negroes  of  his  Diocese, 


Bishops  of  T^oktii  Carolina.  249 

and  especially  of  that  institution  for  their  education."  The 
honorary  pall-bearers  were  the  following  laymen :  Captain 
John  Wilkes,  Captain  William  L.  London,  Colonel  Paul  B. 
Means,  Doctor  E.  Burke  Haywood,  Doctor  Thomas  D.  Hogg, 
Doctor  Peter  E.  Hines,  Captain  Samuel  A.  Ashe,  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Johnson,  Mr.  Charles  G.  Latta,  Mr.  Hugh  Morson,  Doctor 
Richard  H.  Lewis,  and  Mr.  Richard  H.  Battle.  Among  the 
Bishops  present  were  the  Right  Reverend  Joseph  Blount  Chesh- 
ire, who  had  become  Bishop  of  Worth  Carolina  upon  Bishop 
Lyman's  death,  the  Right  Reverend  Alfred  Augustin  Watson, 
Bishop  of  East  Carolina,  and  the  Right  Reverend  Alfred  Magill 
Randolph,  Bishop  of  Southern  Virginia.  The  pastoral  staff 
of  the  late  Bishop  was  carried  before  the  coffin  by  his  chaplain, 
the  Reverend  Charles  Carroll  Quin.  After  the  remains  came  the 
family  of  the  deceased  and  many  friends,  including  Governor 
Elias  Carr  and  other  State  officers..  At  the  entrance  to  the 
church-yard,  the  sentences  were  begun  by  Bishop  Randolph, 
who  continued  the  services  to  the  lesson,  which  was  read  by  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Marshall,  Rector  of  the  Parish,  and  President 
of  the  Diocesan  Convention.  The  Creed  and  prayers  were  said 
by  Bishop  Watson.  The  interment  took  place  at  Oakwood 
Cemetery,  where  the  committal  services  were  conducted  by 
Bishop  Cheshire.  Over  the  grave  now  rests  a  marble  slab  con- 
taining this  inscription : 

In  Memory  of 

The  Right  Reverend 

THEODORE  BENEDICT  LYMA:N', 

D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L., 

Fourth  Bishop  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

Bom  27th  N"ov.,  1815. 

Consecrated  Bishop  11th  Dec,  1873 

Died  13th  Dec,  1893. 

"Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant/' 


250  Bishops  of  ISTorth  Carolina. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  handsome  granite  house  of  wor- 
ship which  is  now  being  erected  by  the  congregation  of  the 
Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  it  is  probable  that  the  remains 
of  Bishop  Lyman  will  be  placed  beneath  its  chancel.  He  and 
his  family  were  members  of  that  Church  when  in  Baleigh; 
and,  in  his  will,  he  left  a  legacy  to  aid  in  the  erection  of  the  new 
building.  He  also  left  legacies  to  the  Thompson  Orphanage  at 
Charlotte,  and  to  the  Permanent  Episcopal  Fund  of  the  Diocese 
of  JSTorth  Carolina.  His  private  theological  library  was  turned 
over  (under  the  terms  of  his  will)  to  the  Diocese,  excepting 
two  hundred  volumes  which  were  bequeathed  to  the  library  of 
Saint  Augustine's  School,  at  Baleigh. 

As  a  true  follower  of  the  teachings  of  those  "fishers  of  men" 
whose  God-given  doctrines  he  proclaimed,  Bishop  Lyman  may  be 
best  described  by  the  divine  rule  of  conduct  which  bids  us  be  "not 
slothful  in  business;  fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the  Lord."  He 
cauie  nearer  to  a  literal  fulfillment  of  the  command  "Go  ye 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature"  than 
any  minister  of  God  who  ever  lived  in  l^orth  Carolina.  South- 
ward from  his  native  New  England,  and  east  and  west  from 
his  California  abode  to  far  away  Cape  Hatteras  in  the  Diocese 
to  which  he  was  later  called  as  Bishop,  he  had  traversed  the 
northern  continent  of  the  New  World  on  his  sacred  mission. 
Throughout  the  kingdoms  and  empires  of  Europe  he  had  trav- 
eled, and  had  even  labored  at  his  calling  in  "the  Eternal  City" 
where  then  reigned  as  temporal  sovereign  the  head  of  a  hostile 
church.  In  Mohamedon  Syria,  in  the  ancient  land  of  Egypt, 
and  within  the  sacred  city  of  Jerusalem,  his  voice  had  been 
raised  to  bear  witness  of  his  faith.  When  sojourning  as  an 
honored  guest  among  the  nobility  of  Great  Britain  and  preach- 
ing in  the  stately  cathedrals  of  that  kingdom,  and  sitting  in 
council  with  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  from  all  Christendom 
in  the  Congress  at  Lambeth  Palace,  he  was  recognized  as  a  man 
well  worthy  of  his  exalted  ofiice.  In  the  cabins  of  the  poor  and 
in  the  rude  rural  chapels  of  more  needy  parts  of  his  own  Diocese, 


Bishops  of  Xorth  Carolina,  251 

he  was  a  welcome  visitor  and  trusted  friend,  who  contributed 
in  no  small  degree  to  the  material  as  well  as  spiritual  wants  of 
the  destitute  and  desolate.  He  was  ever  a  true  friend  of  the 
negro,  often  visiting  the  schools  as  well  as  churches  provided 
for  that  race,  and  daily  summoning  the  domestics  of  his  own 
household  to  join  his  family  in  prayer.  From  the  record  of  one 
of  his  visits  to  I^ew  York,  we  learn  of  his  preaching  to  con- 
gregations of  Chinese,  his  sermons  being  translated  by  an  in- 
terpreter. Nor  were  all  of  his  journeys,  particularly  those  in 
the  wild  mountainous  regions  of  North  Carolina,  free  from 
personal  danger.  Speaking  of  an  experience  on  August  21, 
1885,  he  says :  "When  a  few  miles  from  Brevard,  in  descending 
the  last  mountain  range,  we  were  placed  in  great  peril  by  en- 
countering a  swarm  of  yellow- jackets  which  nearly  covered  our 
horses.  The  horses  became  frantic  and  unmanageable;  and  we 
feared,  every  moment,  a  plunge  over  the  precipice  at  our  side. 
But  a  kind  Providence  guarded  us,  and  we  escaped  without 
any  accident  or  injury." 

It  is  true  that  Bishop  Lyman  was  sometimes  more  outspoken 
than  tactful.  He  was  a  man  of  decided  opinions  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  say  what  he  thought,  whether  his  manner  of  expres- 
sion always  seemed  considerate  or  not.  Yet  he  was  kind-hearted, 
sympathetic,  and  generous  with  it  all,  and  those  who  knew  him 
most  intimately  were  his  greatest  admirers. 

Though  the  Diocese  of  North  Carolina  had  been  formed  in 
1817,  it  was  not  until  May  22,  1823,  that  its  first  Bishop  was 
consecrated.  Between  the  latter  date  and  Bishop  Lyman's  death 
about  seventy  years  elapsed.  What  wonderful  changes  were 
wrought  during  that  time !  When  Bishop  Lyman  died,  many 
congregations  in  North  Carolina  had  larger  membership  rolls 
than  did  the  whole  Diocese  when  Ravenscroft  came,  seventy 
years  before.  The  Church,  too,  toward  the  end  of  the  Episco- 
pate of  Bishop  Lyman,  was  becoming  better  understood  and 
more  appreciated  by  thoughtful  members  of  the  various  Chris- 
tian denominations;  and  a  surpliced  clergyman  was  no  longer 


252  Bishops  of  North  Carolina. 

a  novelty.  Concerning  this  change  in  the  public  mind,  Bishop 
Lyman  himself,  in  his  address  to  the  Diocesan  Convention  of 
1890,  said:  "Outside  the  ranks  of  our  own  communion,  the 
Church  is  becoming  better  understood,  and  the  principles  which 
govern  us  more  fully  appreciated.  We  now  very  rarely  hear 
the  scornful  charge  of  narrowness  and  bigotry.  Men  are  more 
willing  to  hear  what  we  have  to  say  in  defense  of  our  position 
in  regard  to  the  historic  continuity  of  the  Church  and  its  catho- 
lic and  apostolic  character.  They  see  that  we  cling  to  and  up- 
hold it,  not  because  it  suits  our  tastes  and  our  preferences,  but 
because  we  truly  believe  in  its  divine  organization  and  its  divine 
authority.  And  men  are  not  willing  to  scoff  at  what  they  see 
to  be  deep  and  abiding  and  overwhelming  convictions." 

After  the  erection  of  the  See  House  or  Episcopal  Residence 
in  the  grove  of  Saint  Mary's  at  Raleigh,  an  eastern  wing  to  the 
new  building  was  added  for  use  as  a  receptacle  for  the  library  of 
the  Diocese,  and  Bishop  Cheshire  gave  it  the  name  of  The  Bishop 
Lyman  Library,  as  a  memorial  to  his  predecessor  in  office. 

During  the  whole  course  of  his  Episcopate,  extending  over  a 
period  of  twenty  years.  Bishop  Lyman  was  never  absent  from  a 
single  session  of  either  the  General  Convention  or  the  Diocesan 
Convention. 

Five  months  after  the  death  of  Bishop  Lyman,  the  Diocesan 
Convention  of  North  Carolina  met  in  the  "twin  city"  of  Win- 
ston-Salem; and,  in  the  course  of  its  session,  that  body  took 
appropriate  action  in  honor  of  his  memory.  On  May  20,  1894, 
prior  to  its  adjournment,  the  Right  Reverend  Ellison  Capers, 
Bishop  of  South  Carolina,  delivered  a  memorial  sermon  in 
Saint  Paul's  Church,  at  Winston,  before  that  gathering.  Re- 
ferring to  the  churchmanship  and  doctrinal  views  of  the  de- 
ceased, in  the  course  of  his  remarks.  Bishop  Capers  said :  "He 
came  into  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  after  a  full  exami- 
nation of  her  claims  upon  his  conscience  and  his  reason,  and 
he  was  ever  the  champion  of  her  history,  her  doctrine,  her  dis- 
cipline and  worship.     To  him  she  stood  four-square  for  the 


Bishops  of  North  Cakolina.  253 

truth,  as  it  is  in  Jesus — a  great  Scriptural  structure  founded  on 
the  Apostles  and  the  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  being  the  corner- 
stone. For  him  the  Prayer  Book  was  the  symbol  and  law  of 
her  doctrine  and  worship.  Her  constitution  and  canons  ruled 
his  ministry.  The  faith  of  the  Church  of  the  Apostolic  Age,  in 
its  simplicity  and  fullness,  was  for  him  the  ancient  Catholic 
faith,  and  that  faith  he  found  in  all  its  integrity  in  the  Re- 
formed Anglican  Communion,  and  taught  in  our  Prayer  Book." 
In  person  Bishop  Lyman  was  a  man  of  large  frame  and  robust 
body,  above  middle  height,  with  a  general  appearance  decidedly 
patriarchal,  and  a  countenance  strong  yet  benign. 

"A  combination  and  a  form,  indeed, 
Where  every  god  did  seem  to  set  liis  seal 
To  give  tlie  world  assurance  of  a  man." 


INDEX. 


Aberdeen,  University  of,  57. 
Adams,  Rev.  .Tames,  21. 

Adams. .  19. 

Advowson.  Governor's  right  of,  IG. 
Africa.  188 :  see  also  South  Africa. 
Alabama.  97.   115.   129,   155,    160- 

161,  163-164.  169,  172. 
Alameda.  Cal..  244. 
Albany.  N.  Y..  219. 
Albert.  Anna  Margaret.  244. 
Albert.  Jacob.  244. 
All  Saints  Church,  Dresden,  Ger- 
many, 235. 
Alston,  J.  J..  82. 

Ambler,  Rev.  Thomas  M.,  192,  201. 
American  Church  Review,  85. 
Amis,  Sarah,  244. 
Anderson.  .James.  42. 
Anderson.  Robert  Walker.  165. 
Anderson.  Chief  Justice  Walker, 

84-85,  93. 
Andrews.  .^Irs.  A.  B.,  202. 
Andrews,  Miss  Jane  H..  242. 
Andros,    Governor    Sir    Edmund, 

38-39. 

Angel. .  24. 

Anglican    Church    in    Colony    of 

North  Carolina,  11-33 ;  see  also 

Episcopal  Church. 
Annals  of  thr  American  Pulpit,  85. 
Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  224. 
Anson  County.  N.  C,  69,  169. 
Antietam.  Battle  of,  175. 
Antonelli,  Cardinal.  212. 
Archdale,  Governor  .John.  14. 
Argyll  and  the  Isles,  Bishop  of. 

221. 
Arkansas,  31,  15.5,  162-163,  174. 
Armada ;  see  Spanish  Armada. 
Armagh,  Archbishop  of,  221,  237. 
Ascension,  Church  of  the,  Hickory, 

N.  C,  165. 
Ashe.  Captain  Samuel  A.,  249. 
Asheville,  N.  C.  82,  103,  113,  149, 

156-157,  179,  181,  224,  229,  235, 

240,  245-246. 
Assistant    Bishop,    office   of,    187- 

189.  213,  245-246. 
Atkinson,  Elizabeth  Withers,  145, 
Atkinson,  Rev.  John  Mayo  Pleas- 
ants, 144. 
Atkinson.  Col.  John  Wilder,  149, 

238. 


Atkinson,  Rev.  Joseph  Mayo,  144. 
Atkinson,     Mrs.    Josepha    Gwinn 

Wilder,  149,  201. 
Atkinson.  Lucy  Fitzhugh,  144. 
Atkinson,  Mary  Mayo,  149. 
Atkinson,  Robert.  143. 
Atkinson.  Dr.  Robert,  149. 
Atkinson.  Rogei*.  143. 
Atkinson.  Roger  B.,  145. 
Atkmson,  Col.  Roger  P.,  226. 
Atkinson.     Rt.     Rev.     Thomas, 

third  Bishop  of  North  Carolina, 

sketch  of.  143-204;  see  also  3.3. 

09,  97,   103,   122,  128,   139,   213- 

214,  216,  218,  223-225,  227,  231, 

239. 
Atkinson,  Rev.  Thomas,  149. 
Atkinson.  Rev.  William  Mayo,  144. 
Augusta,  Ga.,  161,  163,  175,  247. 
Augustine,    first    Archbishop    of 

Canterbury.  12,  219. 
Avery,  Rev.  John,  93. 

Babbitt,  Rev.  P.  Teller,  109. 
Backhouse,  Rev.  John  A.,  107. 
Badger,  Judge  George  E.,  59,  103, 

112,  lis.  181. 
Badger.  Thomas,  242. 
Badger,  Mrs.  Thomas,  242. 
Baker,  Dr.  Simmons  J.,  105. 
Baltimore.  Md.,  122.  146,  148,  150- 

152,   178-179,  188-189,   199,  209, 

213,  218.  223.  226.  235,  244. 
Banci-oft,  George,  104. 
Baptism  of  Manteo  and  Virginia 

Dare,  13-14. 
Baptisms  by  immersion,  21,  6.3. 
Baptists,  31,  60,  131. 
Barber,  Rev.  Milton  Augustus,  62. 
Barber,  Rev.  Richard  Wainwright, 

111. 
Barnett,  Rev.  John,  21. 
Barrett,  Rev.  Robert  S.,  245. 
Baskett,  John.  29. 
Batavia,  N.  Y.,  9.3. 
Batchelor.  Joseph  B.,  240. 
Bath,  N.  C.  20,  25-26,  28,  53,  58, 

152,  193,  218. 
Bath  and  Wells,  Bishops  of,  33, 

220. 
Battle,  .Tames  S..  2.30. 
Battle.  Dr.  Kemp  P.,  176,  227,  238- 

239,  242-243. 


256 


Index. 


Battle,  Mrs.  Kemp  P.,  242. 
Battle,  Miss  Lucv  P.,  242. 
Battle.  Richard  H.,  228,  230,  249. 
Battle,  Turner,  158. 
Battle,    Judge    William    H.,    176, 

190. 
Beaufort  County.    N.    C,   22,   58, 

101.  152,  169,  196. 
Beckwith,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Watrous, 

Bishop  of  Georgia,  97,  198. 
Bedell,   Rt.  Rev.   Gregory  Thurs- 
ton, Bishop  of  Ohio,  55,  219. 
Bedell,   Rev.   Gregory  Townsend, 

55. 
Bell.    Gov.    Peter    Hansborough, 

132. 
Bell,    Mrs.     Peter    Hansborough, 

132. 
Benade,  Rt.  Rev.  Andrew,  Mora- 
vian Bishop.  64. 
Benbury,  William.  26. 
Benedict,  Aaron,  208. 
Benedict,  Mary,  208. 
Beunehan.  Thomas  D.,  98,  100. 
Benson  Library,  186. 
Beutham.  Joseph,  29. 
Benton,   Rev.   Angelo  Ames,    168, 

190. 
Benton.  Rev.  George,  167. 

Benzien.  ,  24. 

Beresford-Hope.  ,  221. 

Berkeley,  Rev.  Alfred  R..  181. 
Berkeley  Parish.  N.  C,  22. 
Bertie  County,  N.  C,  195,  282. 
Bethabara.  N.  C,  24. 
Biddle,  Nicholas,  83. 
Binney,  Horace.  175. 
Bishops,  Apostolic  origin  of,  9-11. 
Bishops  not  sent  to  colonies,  17. 
Bishop's  residence,  or  See  House, 

83,  154,  202,  252. 
Blacknall,  Rev.  John,  21. 
Blair,  Rev.  John,  21. 
Bland.  Rev.  Charles  T.,  111. 
Blandford  Church.  Va.,  143. 
Blin.  Rev.  Peter,  21-22. 
Blount,  John,  26. 
Blount,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  21-22,  53- 

54. 
Blount,  Capt.  Thomas.  26. 
Blount,  Major  William  Augustus, 

108. 
Blount's      Chapel,      Chocow^inity, 

N.  C.  54. 
Boiling,  Jane,  40,  42. 
Boiling,  Mary.  40. 
Boiling,  Col.  Robert,  40,  42. 
Bonner,  Capt.  Henry,  25. 


Bonner,  Joseph,  25. 

Borness,  Scotland,  41. 

Boston,  Mass.,  38-39,  178,  207,  213. 

Bowen,  Rt.  Rev.  Nathaniel.  Bishop 

of  South  Carolina,  52,  93. 
Boyd,  Rev.  Adam,  .30. 
Boylan.  William,  61. 
Brady,  Rev.  Charles  O.,  193. 
Brandywine,  Battle  of,  30. 
Bratton,   Rt.   Rev.   Theodore  Du- 

Bose.  Bishop  of  Mississippi,  102. 
Brett,  Rev.  Daniel,  20-21. 
Brevard,  N.  C,  251. 
Briggs.  Rev.  Robert,  21. 
Brighton,  Mass.,  209. 
Bristol,  England,  42. 
Bristol  Parish,  Va.,  42,  143,  145. 
Bronson.  Rev.  Benjamin  S.,  190, 

195,  201.  225.  227-228,  230. 
Brown,   Rt.   Rev.   William   Mont- 
gomery, Bishop  of  Arkansas.  31. 
Brownell,  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  Church, 

Bishop  of  Connecticut,  68-69,  71, 

129-130,  151. 
Brunswick,  N.  C.  25,  95,  192. 
Brunswick  County,  Va.,  40. 
Bryan,  John  H.,  86.  106. 
Bryan,  Judge  Henry  Ravenscroft, 

86.  229. 
Buck,  Rev.  James  A..  178. 
Buckett.  Maiy  Jane,  244. 
Buel.  Rev.  D.  Hillhouse,  149,  156. 
Buford,  Sarah,  70. 
Buncombe.  Col.  Edward,  31. 
Burges,  Dr.  A.  S.  H..  59. 
Burges,  Rev.  Henry  John,  21-22. 
Burges,  Rev.  Thomas,  21-22. 
Burgess,  Rt.  Rev.  George,  Bishop 

of  Maine.  129. 
Burgwyn,    Henry    King,    98,    100, 

157. 
Burke  County,  N.  C,  57,  95. 
Burr,  Col.  James  G.,  79,  192. 
Burton.  Gov.  Hutchins  G..  6.5. 
Burwell,  Anne   Spotswood,  45-46, 

70. 
Burwell,  Lewis,  45. 
Butler.  Gen.  Benjamin  F..  171. 
Buxton,  Rev.  Jarvis,  111,  122,  156, 

218.  2.30,  238-239. 
Buxton.   Rev.  Jarvis  Barry,  101, 

103.  Ill,  120-122. 
Bvnum.  Rev.  William  S.,  180. 
Byrd,  Col.  William.  39. 

Cairns.  Rev.  William  D.,  100. 
Cairnsmore,  Scotland,  41-42,  73. 
Caldwell,  Rev.  Joseph,  77-78. 


Index. 


257 


California.  171.  1!)!),  244.  24(;. 
Calvary      Church,      Tarborough, 

N.  C,  240. 
Calvarj-    Church,    Wadesborough, 

N.  C.  57.  95. 
Calviu.  John.  11.  49. 
Cambridge.  Eugland,  199. 
Cameron.   .Judge  Duncan,  5G,  69, 

98.  100.  103.  10.5-107. 
Cameron,    Mrs.    Francis    Hawks, 

242. 
Cameron.  Rev.  John,  57. 
Cameron.  Dr.  Thomas  N.,  55-57. 
Campbell.  Marsden.  54. 
Canada,  73,  151.  208. 
Canterbury.  Archbishops  of,  12,  33, 

121-122.  187,  218-219.  23.5-236. 
Cape  Colony,  South  Africa,  42. 
Cape  Fear  River,  25.  192. 
Cape  Palmas.  South  Africa.  199. 
Capei-s.  Rt.  Rev.  EIHsoti.  Bishop 

of  South  Carolina.  247.  252. 
Cashel  and  Cork.  Bishop  of,  237. 
CaroUna  Churchman.  181. 
Carr.  Gov.  Ellas.  249. 
Castleman.  Rev.  Robert  A.,  177. 
Catholicity  in   the  CaroUnas  and 

Georgia,   by   Father  O'Connell, 

138. 
Census ;  see  Popoulation. 
Centre  Church.  Hartford,  Conn., 

207. 
Chaplains  in  Revolutionary  War, 

30-31. 
Chaplains  in  Confederate  Army, 

163-164. 
Chaplain     in     Spanish-American 

War.  181.  195. 
Charleston.  S.  C.  213.  245. 
Charlotte.  N.  C.  165,  170.  180.  195- 

19G.  200,  232.  247.  2.50. 
Charlotte  County.  Va..  47. 
Chase.  Rt.  Rev.  Carlton,  Bishop 

of  New  Hampshire.  97,  129. 
Chatham  County,  N.  C,  155. 
Chesapeake  Bay,  174. 
Cheshire.  Rev.  .Joseph  Blount,  Sr.. 

62.  176.  185.  190.  228.  246-247. 
Cheshire.  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Blount, 

fifth  Bishop  of  North  Carolina, 

113.   146.   191-192.   224,  230-231, 

238-239.  243,  245-249. 
Chevin.  Nathaniel,  26. 
China.  246-247. 
Chinese  services.  251. 
Chocowinity,  N.  C.  54.  196. 
Chowan  Precinct  or  County,  N.  C, 

22-24. 


Christ    Church,    Baltimore,    Md., 

209. 
Christ  Church,  Lancaster,  Pa.,  92. 
Christ  Church.  New  Born.  N.  C, 

54.  57.  69.  93.  95,  101,  108,  169. 
Christ  Church.  Norfolk.  Va..  146. 
Christ    Church,    I'ensacola,    Fla., 

!)7. 
Christ  Church.  Philadelphia,  Pa., 

84.  '^{\. 
Christ  Church,  Raleigh.  N.  C,  51, 

53.  57-63.  70,  72.  75,  93,  118,  128. 

149-151.    158,    181-182,    214-215, 

243,  245.  248. 
Christ    Church,    Rowan    County, 

N.  C.  57,  192. 
Christian.  Rev.  Nicholas,  21. 
Church  for  Americans,  by  Bishop 

Brown.  31. 
Church   Histori/   in   North    Caro- 
lina, 29.  156,  239. 
Church  Intelligencer,  180. 
Church  Messenger,  180. 
Church   of   All    Saints,   Dresden, 

Germany.  235. 
Church  of  the  Ascension,  Hickory, 

N.  C,  165. 
Church    of    the    Good    Shepherd, 

Raleigh,  N.  C,  215-216,  22.3,  240, 

250. 
Church    of   the   Holy   Comforter, 

Charlotte.  N.  C.  140.  200,  202. 
Church  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Nice, 

Italy,  237. 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  Paris, 

France.  2.34. 
Cincinnati.  O..  96.  122. 
Claggett.  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  John, 

Bishop  of  Maryland.  33. 
Clark.  Bethiah,  208. 
Clark,  Mrs.  Martha,  170. 
Clay,  Henry,  73. 
Clav,  Rev.  J.  Curtis.  54. 
Clewell,  Rev.  John  H..  2.3. 
Clinton.  N.  T.,  92,  208-209.  243. 
Cobbs.    Rt.    Rev.    Nicholas    Han- 

mer.   Bishop  of  Alabama.    129, 

160,  169. 
Cogswell.  Joseph  G..  104.  108. 
Coit,  Rev.  Heni-y  Augustus,  211. 
Coit.  Rev.  Joseph  Howland.  210- 

211. 
Coleman.  Rev.  Lyman,  209. 
Coles.  Elizabeth.  207. 
Collins,  Josiah.  .54,  85.  98-99,  113- 

114.  120.  157-158.  168,  170. 
Colonial  Churches  in  the  Original 

Colony  of  Virginia,  25,  193. 


258 


Index. 


Colorado,  216. 

Colored  race ;  see  Negroes. 

Columbia,  S.  C,  160. 

Columbia  College,  N.  Y.,  75,  96. 

Columbus.  Ga.,  67. 

Commuiiiou  vessels  of  colonial 
period,  27-28. 

Concord,  N.  H.,  179,  211. 

Connecticut,  52,  68-69,  91-92,  118, 
129,  132,  151.  199,  207,  211. 

Confederate  Cliurch,  97,   159-180. 

Confirmation  impossible  in  colo- 
nies, 18. 

Congregationalists,  31,  208,  224. 

Continuity  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, by  Dr.  Seabury,  126. 

Cooke,  James  T.,  165. 

Cooper,  Susan  Fenimore,  167. 

Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  178. 

Cornell  University.  224. 

Cosgrove,  Rev.  James,  21. 

Councils,  Diocesan,  161-162. 

Cox.  Gen.  William  R.,  185,  225, 
242.  244. 

Coxe,  Rt.  Rev.  Arthur  Cleveland, 
Bishop  of  Western  New  York, 
224. 

CracUc  of  the  Repnhlic,  by  Dr. 
Tyler.  39. 

Craig,  Alexander.  41,  73. 

Craig,  Lillias,  73. 

Cramp.  Rev.  John,  21. 

Craven  Parish.  23. 

Crawford,  Charles,  152. 

Crawford,  Mrs.,  152. 

Crete,  Island  of,  168. 

Crisp,  Nicholas,  26. 

Croes,  Rt.  Rev.  John,  Bishop  of 
New  Jersey.  52. 

Cumberland  Countv,  England,  143. 

Cumberland  County,  N.  C,  108, 
231-232. 

Cumberland  Parish,  Va.,  52. 

Cuming,  Rev.  Robert,  21. 

Cunningham,  Emily,  244. 

Cupples,  Rev.  Charles,  21.  31. 

Currituck  Parish,  N.  C,  22-23. 

Currituck  Precinct  or  County, 
N.  C.  22. 

Curtis,  Rev.  Charles  J.,  180. 

Curtis,  Rev.  Moses  Ashley,  105. 

Cutlar,  Du  Brutz,  238. 

Dare,  Virginia.  14. 
Dare  County,  N.  C,  13. 
Davidson,  Attorney-General  Theo- 
dore F.,  242. 
Davie  County,  N.  C,  159. 


Davis,  George,  151. 
Davis,  Jefferson,  195. 
Davis,  Judge  Joseph  J.,  242. 
Davis,  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  F.,  Bishop 

of  South  Carolina,  58,  151,  160- 

161. 
Davis,  Rev.  Thomas  F.,  Jr.,  111. 
Deaf-mute  religious  services,  223. 
Declaration  of  Independence,  31. 
DeLancey,  Rt.  Rev.  William  Heath- 
cote,   Bishop   of  Western  New 

York,  129. 
Delaware,  129. 
Delaware  College,  168. 
Denson,  Capt.  Claudius  B.,  225. 
DeRosset,    Dr.    Armand    J.,    190, 

228.  230-231. 
DeRosset,    Col.    William    L.,    230, 

238. 
Detroit,  Mich..  224. 
Devereux,  Mrs.  Margaret,  158. 
Devereux,   Thomas   Pollock,    103, 

105,  158. 
Dickens,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  131,  188. 
Dillard.  Dr.  Richard,  193. 
Dinwiddle  County,  Va.,  143,  145, 

201. 
Division  of  the  Diocese,  227-233. 
Doane,    Rt.    Rev.    George    Wash- 
ington, Bishop  of  New  Jersey, 

96,  129,  151. 
Doane,    Rt.    Rev.    William    Cros- 

well,    Bishop    of    Albany,    179, 

219. 
Dobbs,  Gov.  Arthur.  18,  20,  24. 
Doctrines   of   the   Church   Vindi- 
cated,  by   Bishop   Ravenscroft, 

84. 
Dorsey,  Caleb,  179. 
Down  and  Connor,  Bishop  of,  221. 
Drage,    Rev.    Theodoras    Swaine, 

221. 
Drake,  Sir  Francis.  14. 
Drane,    Rev.    Robert    Brent    (of 

Wilmington),  79,  111,  120,  150, 

106-167,  191. 
Drane.    Rev.    Robert    Brent    (of 

Edenton),  25-26,  167,   193,  238- 

239. 
Drayton,  Gen.  Thomas  F.,  147. 
Dresden,  Germany,  235. 
Du  Bose.  Rev.  McNeely,  102. 
Dublin,  Archbishop  of,  237. 
Dublin  College,  20. 
Dukinfield.  Sir  Robert,  26. 
Dukinfield,  William,  26. 
Durham,  N.  C,  217,  225. 


Index. 


259 


Eatues,  Rev.  Dr.,  179. 

Earl.  Itev.  Dauiel,  21. 

Early.  Gen.  Jubal  A.,  1"),  210. 

Early  Etu/Uiih  Colonics  in  Ameri- 
ca., by  the  Bishop  of  London, 
17-18. 

Eastburn.  Rt.  Rev.  ^Manturn, 
Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  129. 

East  Carolina,  Diocese  of,  161, 
IGf).  181,  103.  lfK)-197,  224,  228- 
2;^,  238,  24G.  240. 

Eastern  Diocese,  in  New  England, 
52. 

Eastern  Parish  of  Chowan  Pre- 
cinct, N.  C,  23. 

Eastou.  Diocese  of,  189,  174,  198, 
201.  214. 

Easton.  Pa.,  209. 

Eaton.  Ella,  131. 

Eatou.  .John  S.,  121. 

Eaton.  Attorney-General  William. 
131. 

Edentou.  X.  C,  22-24,  28,  54-57, 
100.  113.  167,  193. 

Edenton  Bay,  63. 

Edgecombe  County,  N.  C,  22,  192, 
231. 

Edinburgh.  Scotland.  73. 

Edinburgh,  Bishop  of.  221. 

Edinburgh.  University  of,  40. 

Eicchholtz,  Jacob.  83-84. 

Elliott,  Rev.  Charles  P..  62. 

Elliott.  Rt.  Rev.  Stephen.  Bishop 
of  Georgia.  06-97.  129,  160. 

Ellis.  Col.  John  S..  59. 

Ellsworth.  Julia,  245. 

Ellsworth,  Chief  Justice  Oliver, 
245. 

Ellsworth,  Gov.  William  W.,  245. 

Ellsworth,  Dr.  Pinckney  Webster, 
245. 

Emmanuel  Church,  Warrenton. 
N.  C,  57. 

Empie.  Rev.  Adam.  55.  104-105. 

England,  Church  of;  see  Angli- 
can Church  ;  see  also  Episcopal 
Church. 

Episcopal  Church  succeeds  Church 
of  England  in  America,  11. 

Episcopal  Church.  Colonial  his- 
tory of.  11-33. 

Episcopal  Church  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. .30-.32. 

Episcopal  School  of  North  Caro- 
Ima.  82,  10.3-107.  155. 

Envin.  .Joseph  J..  225.  227. 

Erwin.' William  A..  225. 

Everhart,  Rev.  George  M..  180. 


Falls.  Rev.  Neilson,  227. 

Fanning.  Col.  Edmund,  32. 

Fanning.  Rev.  William,  21. 

Farmiiigdalo,  Va..  42. 

Fayctteville.  N.  C,  54-.58.  71,  75, 
101.  122.  125.  182,  190,  208. 

Fielding.  Rev.  John,  95. 

Fishe  [Fiske?].  Rev,  Samuel,  21. 

Fisher.  Fort,  165. 

FitzGerald,  Rev.  Frederick,  111, 
157.  1(!6.  180. 

Fitzpatrick,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Ber- 
nard. Roman  Catholic  Bishop, 
213. 

Florence.  Italy.  211,  235. 

Florida,  97.  129.  15.5,  161. 

Flushing,  N.  Y.,  103-104. 

Forbes,  Rev.  Edward  M.,  190,  225, 
228. 

Forbes,  Rev.  John  Murrav.  130, 
21.3. 

Ford.  Hephzibah.  207. 

Ford.  Rev.  Hezekiah.  21.  30. 

Forsyth  County,  N.  C.  23,  197. 

Fort  Fisher,  N.  C,  165. 

Fothergill.  Gerald,  21. 

Foxcroft,  Francis.  39. 

Fountain  Rock.  Md..  210. 

Frederick  County,  Md.,  210. 

Fredericksburg.  Va.,  51. 

Fredericton.  Canada,  151. 

Freeman,  Edmund  P..,  100. 

Freeman,  Rt.  Rev.  George  Wash- 
ington, Missionary  Bishop  of 
Arkansas  and  the  Southwest, 
58-60,  62,  65,  72-73,  103.  105, 
129. 

Fremont,  Col.  Sewell  L.,  191. 

French,  Rev.  William  Glennev, 
111. 

Friends.  Society  of;  see  Quakers. 

Fries,  Miss  Adelaide  L.,  6.5. 

Frobisher,  Martin,  14. 

Fuller,  Rev.  Mr.,  179. 

Gallagher,  Rev.  Mr.,  158. 
Galloway.  Scotland.  40. 
Garzia,  Rev.  John,  21-22,  27. 
Gaston,  X.  C.  177. 
Geer.  Rev.  Edwin.  107,  1.52.  165. 
General     Theolo.gical     Seminary, 

103.  1.36.  209.  213-214. 
Geneva,  Switzerland.  2.34. 
George.  Rev.  Thomas  M.  N.,  193, 

2.39,  245. 
Georgia.  66,  95-97,  129,  151,   155, 

160-161.  198.  247. 
Germantown,  Battle  of,  31. 


260 


Index. 


Gibson.  Rev.  Chureliill  J..  40,  144. 

Gibson,  Patrick,  40. 

Gibson,  Rt.  Rev.  Robert  Atkin- 
son, Bishop  of  A^irginia.  40,  144. 

Gillette,  Maiy,  91. 

Gloster,  .Joseph,  19. 

Gloucester  and  Bristol,  Bishop  of, 
220,  237. 

Goldsborough,  N.  C,  58.  187. 

Goodman,  Rev.  John  R.,  61,  93, 
101. 

Good  Samaritan  Hospital,  196. 

Good  Shepherd,  Church  of  the, 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  215-216,  223,  240, 
250. 

Gordon,  Samuel,  42. 

Gordon,  Rev.  William,  21. 

Govenior's  right  of  Advowson,  16. 

Grace  Chapel,  Pitt  County,  N.  C, 
57. 

Grace  Church,  Baltimore,  Md., 
148,  179. 

Grace  Church,  Morganton,  N.  C, 
226-227. 

Grace  Church,  Plymouth.  N.  C, 
169. 

"Grand  Model"  ;  see  Locke's  Con- 
stitution. 

Granville  County,  N.  C,  66,  70,  78. 

Graves,  Rt.  Rev.  Frederick  Tem- 
ple. JNIissionary  Bishop  of 
Shanghai,  China,  247. 

Greece,  167-168. 

Greek  Church,  234. 

Green.  Rt.  Rev.  William  Mercer, 
Bishop  of  Mississippi.  38,  45, 
51-52.  58.  61,  67.  79-81,  85-86, 
103-105,  129.  160,  188,  233. 

Greencrofts,  A^a.,  42. 

Greene  County.  N.  C,  232. 

Greenville,  N.  C,  56. 

Gregg,  Rt.  Rev.  Alexander,  Bishop 
of  Texas,  160. 

Grenville.  Sir  Richard,  14. 

Gries,  Rev.  William  R.,  111. 

Griswold.  Rt.  Rev.  Alexander 
Viets,  Bishop  of  the  Eastern 
Diocese,  52. 

Hagerstown,  Md.,  209-211. 
Haigh,  Charles  T.,  82.  182. 
Hairston.  Peter  W..  158-159. 
Hale  &  Co.,  Edward  J.,  84. 
Halifax  County,  N.  C,  100,  170, 

195,  231. 
Halifax,  town  of,  30,  57,  177. 
Hall,  Rev.  Clement,  20-21. 
Hall,  Judge  John,  44. 


Hailing,  Rev.  Solomon,  .30. 
Hamilton  College,  N.  Y.,  92,  208- 

209,  243. 
Hampden-Sidney      College,      Va., 

144-145. 
Hanckel,  Rev.  Christian,  163. 
Hanson,  Rev.  John  H.,  118. 
Hardiu,  William  FI..  225. 
Harding,  Rev.  Israel,  236. 
Harding,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  236,  238, 

245 
Harding,  Rev.  John  Ravenseroft, 

236. 

Harnett  County,  N.  C,  231. 
Harris,   Rt.   Rev.    Samuel   Smith, 

Bishop  of  Michigan,  224. 
Harrison.  Rev.  Hall,  209. 
Hart,  William,  136. 
Hartford,   Conn.,   68-69,  199,  207, 

211. 

Harvard  College,  57. 

Hathaway,  James  R.  B.,  193. 

Plaughton,  John  H..  185. 

Haughton,  Rev.  Thomas  B.,  165. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John.  14. 

Hawkins,  Miss  Lucy,  242. 

Hawkins,  Mrs.  William  J.,  242. 

Hawks.  Rt.  Rev.  Cicero  Stephens, 
Bishop  of  Missouri,  65, 101, 129. 

Hawks.  Rev.  Francis  Lister,  65, 
101,  118,  150. 

Hawks,  Rev.  William  Nassau,  65, 
101. 

Plawson,  Rev.  William,  21. 

Hay,  Anthony,  143. 

Haywood,  Mrs.  Alfred  W.,  242. 

Haywood.  Dr.  E.  Burke,  249. 

Haywood,  Frank  P.,  Jr.,  240. 

Haywood,  Marshall  DeLancey, 
191. 

Havwood,  William  H.,  Jr.,  59, 
S3,  105-106. 

Henderson.  John  Steele,  191-192, 
226,  229,  238. 

Henderson.  Chief  Justice  Leon- 
ard, 78-79. 

Henderson,  N.  C,  121. 

Henshaw,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Prentiss 
Kewlev,  Bishop  of  Rhode  Is- 
land, 146. 

Hepburn.  Alexander  McHarg,  73. 

Hepburn,    Ebenezer   McHarg,    73. 

Hertford  County,  N.  C,  232. 

Herzog,  Rt.  Rev. ,  Old  Catho- 
lic Bishop,  220. 

Hewett,  Rev.  Richard,  21. 

Hickory.  N.  C,  165. 


Index. 


261 


Hicks,  Miss  Charlotte.  170. 
Hiffh  Onsar.  EiiKlaml.  207. 
Hill,  Oon.  Daniel  Harvey,  179. 
Hill,  Dr.  Frederick  J.,  95. 105, 1G8. 
Hill.  Thomas,  155. 
Hillianl.    Rev.    Francis    W.,    165, 

1!).;.  227. 
Hillsborough.   N.   C,  30.   58,   182, 

1!«. 
Hilton,  Rev.  Horace  G.,  193. 
Hines,  Dr.  Peter  E..  249. 
Hinsdale,  Mrs.  .John  W..  242. 
Hinsdale,  Miss  Margaret  D..  242. 
Histories    of    Parishes    in    North 

Carolina.  102-193. 
Historiographer,  olhce  of,  101. 
History    of    the    Church    in    the 

Diocese  of  Tennessee,  by  Rev. 

A.  H.  Noll.  83. 
Hobart,    Rt.    Rev.    John    Henry, 

Bishop  of  New  York.  92. 
Hobart,  Rebecca,  92,  137 ;  see  also 

Ives,  Mi-s.  Levi  Silliman. 
Hodges.  Rev.  William.  176. 
Hogg,  Gavin.  .59.  71-72,  103. 
Hogg.  Mrs.  Gavin.  76. 
Hogg.  Dr.  Thomas  D.,  249. 
Holmes.  Rev.  Luciau,  156. 
Holv   Comforter.    Church   of  the, 

Ciiarlotte.  N.  C,  146,  200,  202. 
Holy   Cross,    Order   of   the,    117. 

125. 
Holv  Spirit.  Church  of  the,  Nice, 

Italy.  237. 
Holy  Trinity.  Church  of  the,  Paris. 

France.  234. 
Hood.  George,  105. 
Hooper.  .John  De  Berniere,  104. 
Hopkins.    Rt.    Rev.    John    Henry, 

Bishop  of  Vermont,  129,  173. 
Horner.   Rt.   Rev.   Junius  Moore, 

Missionarv     Bishop     of     Ashe- 

ville.  113.' 224.  246. 
Hospitals.  180.  196. 
Howard  County,  Md..  179. 
Howe.     Rt.     Rev.     William    Bell 

White.   Bishop  of  South  Caro- 
lina, 199,  233. 
Hubbard.  Rev.  Fordyce  Mitchell. 

62.  108-109.  176.  ISO.  185. 
Hughes.  Most  Rev.  John,  Roman 

Catholic  Archbishop,   134. 
Hughes,  Rev.  N.  Collin.  185,  196. 
Hughes.  Rev.  N.  Collin,  Jr.,  197, 

238-239. 
Hunter.  Rev.  A.  Burtis,  186,  240. 
Hunter,  Mrs.  A.  Burtis.  242. 
Hunter.  Rev.  William  C,  185. 


Ilurton,  Miss  .Tennie.  242. 
lluske.  Rev.  Joseph  C,  228-230. 
Il.vacinth.  Pere.  220,  2.34. 
Hyde  I'arish,  23. 

Illinois,  129,  187. 

Inimersion ;  see  Baptism  by  im- 
mersion. 

India,  150. 

Indiana,  97,  129.  146-148,  246. 

Indians,  Church  work  among,  13, 
18-20. 

Inverness  Cathedral,  187. 

Iredell  County,  N.  C,  57,  151, 193. 

Ireland,  218. 

Ives,  p]benezer  H.,  1,33. 

Ives,  John   (first),  91. 

Ives,  John  (second),  91. 

Ives,  ,Tohn  (third).  91. 

Ives,  John  (fourth),  91. 

Ives,  Levi,  91. 

Ives,  Rt.  Rev.  Levi  Silliman, 
second  Bishop  of  North  Caro- 
lina, sketch  of,  91-139 ;  see  also 
33.  69.  82,  149-150,  182,  213-214, 
225,  239. 

Ives.  Mrs.  Levi  Silliman,  92.  131, 
137-1.38;  see  also  Hobart,  Re- 
becca. 

Ives,  William,  91. 

".Jacobite  Church,"  32. 
James  City  County,  Va.,  39. 
Jamestown,  Va.,  14. 
Japan.  247. 

Jarvis,  Rev.  Samuel  Farmer,  118. 
Johns.   Rt.   Rev.   John,   Assistant 
Bishop  of  Virginia,  97,  129,  161. 
Johnson,  Charles  E..  2.38,  249. 
.Johnson,  a  slave,  72-74. 
Johnson's  Island  Prison,  149. 
Johnston.  Rev.  Francis,  21-22. 
Johnston  County,  N.  C.  31,  231. 
.Jones.  Rev.  Edward,  21-22. 
.Jones.  Rev.  Walter,  21. 
Joyner.   Rev.   Edmund  N.,  230. 
Judd.  Rev.  Bethel,  54-55,  208. 

Kemp.  Rt.  Rev.  James,  Bishop  of 
Maryland.  52. 

Kemper,  Rt.  Rev.  Jackson,  Mis- 
sionary Bishop  of  Missouri  and 
Indiana,  97.  129. 

Kentucky,  66,  68,  120.  178-170. 

Kerfoot,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Barrett, 
Bishop  of  Pittsburg.  175,  170, 
210-211. 


262 


Index. 


Kilgour,  Rt.  Rev.  Robert,  Scotch 

Bishop,  32. 
King's  Chapel,  Boston,  Mass.,  38. 
Kinston,  N.  C,  58. 
Kirkcudbright,  Scotland,  41. 
Kittrell,  N.  C,  165. 
Kuickerbacker,    Rt.    Rev.    David 

Buel,   Bishop  of  Indiana,   246. 
Knoxville,  Tenn.,  67. 

Lafayette  College,  Pa.,  209. 
Lake  Scnppernong,  N.  C,  85. 
Lamb,  Wilson  G.,  238. 
Lambeth  Conference  (first),  188- 
189. 

Conference     ( second ) , 


Conference      ( third ) , 


Lambeth 
218-220. 

Lambeth 
23G-237. 

Lambeth  Palace,  33,  188,  218- 
220,  235-236,  250. 

Lancaster,  Pa.,  92. 

Larmour,  Rev.  J.  Worrall,  201. 

Lash,  Herman,  23. 

Lash,  Jacob,  23. 

Latta,  Charles  G.,  249. 

Laud,  Archbishop,  13. 

Lawler,  Patrick.  19. 

Lay,  Rt.  Rev.  Henry  Champlin, 
Missionary  Bishop  of  the  South- 
west, Missionary  Bishop  of 
Arkansas,  and  Bishop  of  Eas- 
ton,  139,  144-145,  148,  161-163, 
173-174,  176-177,  198,  201-203,' 
214,  223. 

Lav,  Rev.  George  W.,  102,  174. 

Lebanon,  Conn.,  207-208. 

Lee,  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred,  Bishop  of 
Delaware,  129. 

Lee,  Gen.  Robert  E.,  176,  195. 

Leuten,  Capt.  Thomas,  26. 

Lewis,  Dr.  Richard  H.,  249. 

Lewis,  Mrs.  Richard  H.,  242. 

Lewis  County,  N.  T.,  91-92. 

Lexington,  N.  C,  57. 

Lexington,  Ky.,  68. 

Liberty  of  worship ;  see  Relig- 
ious liberty. 

Life  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft,  by 
Dr.  Norton.  80,  85. 

Lincoln  County,  N.  C,  57-58. 

Lincolnton,  N.  C,  177. 

Liquor  question.  197-198. 

Litchfield,  Bishop  of,  219. 

Little,  Rev.  Arthur  W.,  10-11. 

Littlejohn,  Rt.  Rev.  Abram  New- 
kirk,  Bishop  of  Long  Island, 
233. 


Littleton,  N.  C,  132. 
Lloyd,  Rev.  Arthur  S.,  245. 
Locke's   Constitution,   or   "Grand 

Model,"  15,  19. 
London,  Henry  A.,  155. 
London,  John  Rutherford,  54. 
London,  William  L.,  249. 
London,  Bishops  of,  16-17,  21,  29. 
London,  England,  42,  162. 
Long,  James,  26. 
Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  103-104,  210, 

233. 
Long  Island,  Battle  of,  30. 
Ix>omis,  Lydia,  208. 
Louisiana,   58,  98,   155,   161,   169, 

219. 
Louisville,  Ky.,  68,  178. 
Lowville,  N.  Y.,  92. 
Lunenburg  County,  Va.,  50,  70,  73. 
Lutherans,  57. 
Lyman,     Anna     Cornelia     Roma, 

244. 
Lyman,  Dr.  Albert  Benedict,  244. 
Lyman,  Rev.  Asa,  208. 
Lyman,  Augustus  Julian,  244. 
Lvman,  Father  Dwight  Edwards, 

208. 
Lyman,  Frances  Augusta,  242. 
Lyman,  Jonathan,  208. 
Lyman,  Jonathan.  Jr.,  208. 
Lyman,  Richard  (first),  207. 
Lyman.  Richard  (second),  207. 
Lyman,  Richard  (third),  207-208. 
Lyman,   Susan  Boone  Robertson, 

245. 
Lyman,  Rt.  Rev.  Theodore  Ben- 
edict, fourth  Bishop  of  North 

Carolina,    sketch    of,    207-2.53; 

see   also  69,   139,   190,   196-197, 

199,  201. 
Lyman,  Theodore  Benedict,  244. 
Lyman,  William,  208. 
Lyman,     William     Whittingham, 

244. 
Lyman  Memorial  Library,  252. 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  146. 
Ijynde,  Chief  Justice,  39. 

Macartney,  Rev.  James,  21. 
McConuell,  Rev.   Samuel  D.,  174. 
McCoskry.  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Allen, 

Bishop  of  Michigan,  129,  151. 
McDonald,  Ronald,  157. 
^McDowell,  Rev.  John,  21. 
McGee,  Mrs.  W^illiam  T.,  242. 
Mcllvaine,  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  Pettit,. 

Bishop  of  Ohio,  129,  151. 
McKean,  William,  41. 


Index. 


263 


McKini,   Rt.   Rev.   John.   Mission- 

arv  liislioj)  of  Tokio.  Japan,  247. 
McLaiio.  Rol)ert  M.,  '2:U. 
Mor>eo(l.  Elizabeth.  41. 
McMurdo,  Charles  J..  40. 
Mc-Murdo,  George,  40. 
McRae,  Rev.  Cameron  F..  115, 124. 
Madison,  Rt.  Rev.  James,  Bishop 

of  Virginia,  8.3. 
Madras,  India,  150. 
Maine.  120,  233. 
Maison,  Rev.  Charles  A..  193. 
Mallett.  Charles  P.,  82-83,  103. 
Manhattanville,  N.  Y.,  134. 
Manly,  Gov.  Charles,  105. 
Mansfield  plantation,  143,  145,  201. 
Manteo  (an  Indian),  Baptism  of, 

13.  19. 
Marlborough,  N.  C.  158. 
Marsden,  Rev.  Richard,  27. 
Marshall,  Chief  Justice,  83. 
Marshall,  Rev.  Matthias  Murray, 

62,   1G5,   190-191.   201,  228,  230, 

2.38-239,  241,  245,  24S-249. 
Martin,  Gen.  James  G.,  190,  228- 

229. 
Martin  County,  N.  C,  232. 
Martinsburg,  N.  Y.,  92. 
Marvland,    33,   52,    129,   146,    148, 

150,  152,  165,  172,  174-175.  178- 

179,  188,  198,  209-211,  214,  228, 

246. 
Mason,  Rev.  Henry  M..  85. 
Mason,  Rev.  Richard  Henry,  62. 
Mason,  Rev.  Richard  Sharpe,  62, 

69,  118,  120-121,  150,  176. 
Massachusetts,    38-39,    104,    108, 

129,  207-209. 
Maurv,  William,  21. 
Maury  County.  Tenn.,  83. 
Maycock,  Capt.  Samuel,  39. 
Mavcock's     ("Maycox")     planta- 
tion, .39-40. 
Mayo,  Mary  Tabb,  143. 
Meade,  Rt.  Rev.  William,  Bishop 

of  Virginia,  37,  58,  68,  129,  143, 

146,  160,  164,  169. 
Means.  Col.  Paul  B.,  249. 
Mecklenburg  County,  Va.,  45,  50- 

51. 
Medley.  Rt.  Rev.  George,  Bishop 

of  Fredericton.  150. 
Meriden,  Conn.,  92. 
Messcnfjer  of  Hope,  181. 
Methodists.  60.  63.  217;  see  also 

Republican  Methodists. 
Michigan.  129.  151,  179,  224. 
Micklejohn,  Rev.  George,  30. 
Miller,  Anne,  43. 


Aiillcr,  Hugh,  40,  43,  143. 

Miller.  Jean,  43. 

Miller.  Lillias,  40-41,  43;  see  also 

Ravenscrof t,  Lillias ;  and  Stew- 
art, Lillias. 
Miller,    Rev.    Robert    Johnstone, 

30,  192. 
Miller,  Rev.  William,  21. 
^ilills  Settlement,  X.  C,  193. 
Milton.  N.  C.  58. 
:.riues,  Rev.  Flavel  S.,  11. 
Minnesota,  236. 
Mission  Herald,  181. 
Mississippi,   ,38,   43,   86,    129,    155, 

160-161,  188,  233. 
Mississippi  River.  69. 
Missouri.  97.  129,  179. 
Moir,  Rev.  James,  21. 
Montgomery,  Ala..  155.  160-161. 
Monumental    Church,    Richmond, 

Va.,  50-51. 
Moore,  Augustus,  120. 
Moore,    Rt.    Rev.    Richard   Chan- 

ning.  Bishop  of  Virginia,  49-51, 

54-56.  59,  146. 
Moravian  Church  or  Utiitas  Fra- 

tnim.  2.3,   64-65.   87.  95-96.   1.53. 
Mordecai.    George   W.,    106,    120, 

1.55.  182,  185. 

Morell, .  157. 

Morgan.  Rev.  William  F.,  2,34. 
Morganton,  N.  C,  150,  225-227. 
Morganton,  N.  C,  school  at ;  see 

Wilberforce  School. 
Morson,  Hugh.  249. 
Moseley.  Edward.  27. 
Mott,  Rev.  Thomas  S.  W..  180. 
Muhlenburg,  Rev.  Dr.,  210. 
Murdoch,    Rev.    Francis    .J.,    156, 

227-228,  231,  2.39.  245. 
Murphy,  Rev.  Joseph  W.,  Ill,  165, 

193,  240, 
Murphy,  Rev.  William,  158. 
Murrav.  James.  27. 
Myers,'  William  R..  227. 

Nansemond  County,  Va.,  19. 

Nash,  Gen.  Francis,  31. 

Nash,  Sanuiel  S..  238. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  68. 

Nassau,  Bishop  of,  219. 

Neely,    Rt.    Rev.    Henry    Adams, 

Bishop  of  Maine,  233. 
Negroes.  Church  work  among,  18- 

20.  69.  98-102,  157-159,  183-186, 

216-217,  251. 
Nelson,  Rt.  Rev.  Cleland  Kinloch, 

Bishop  successively  of  Georgia 

and  Atlanta,  246-247. 


264 


Index. 


Nevin,  Rev.  Dr.,  212. 

New  Bern,  N.  C,  24,  31,  54,  56-58, 
69,  86,  93.  95.  101,  108,  159,  169, 
171,  187,  208. 

New  Hampshire,  97,  129,  179. 

New  Haven,  Conn..  91. 

New  Jersey.  17,  31,  52,  96,  129, 
151. 

Newman,  Rev.  Thomas,  21. 

New  Orleans.  La.,  171. 

Newport,  Tenn.,  67. 

Newton   Stewart,    Scotland,   73. 

New  York,  17-18.  33,  57,  75,  84-86, 
91-94,  96.  103,  107,  110,  117-119, 
121,  128-129,  134-136,  150-152, 
157,  172,  178-179,  208-210,  212- 
213,  218-219,  223,  227,  235,  240, 
251. 

Nice,  Italy,  235,  237. 

Nichols,  William,  61. 

Niles,  Robert  L.,  245. 

Noe,  Rev.  Thomas  P.,  181. 

Nolan,  Sarah  A.,  244. 

Noll.  Rev.  Arthur  Howard,  82-83. 

Non-jnring  Bishops  in  Scotland, 
17   32-33. 

Norfolk.  Va.,  146. 

Northampton,  Mass.,  104,  108,  207. 

Northern  California,  171,  199,  246. 

Norton,  Rev.  .Jolm  N..  80,  85. 

Norton's  Life  of  Bishop  Ravens- 
croft,  80,  85. 

Norwood,  William,  Jr.,  105. 

O'Connell,  Father  J.  J.,  138. 

O'Donnell.  Kate,  244. 

Oertel,  Rev.  Johannes  Adam,  215. 

Ohio,  55,  121,  129,  151,  219. 

Ohio  River,  69. 

Old  Catholics  of  Switzerland,  220. 

OM    CJinrehes    and    Families    in 

Yirginia,  by  Bishop  Meade,  37. 
Old  South  Meeting-House,  Boston, 

Mass..  38-39. 
Olmsted.  Rev.  Aaron  Frank,  62. 
Onderdonk,    Rt.    Rev.    Benjamin 

Tredwell,  Bishop  of  New  York, 

93. 
Onderdonk,      Rt.      Rev.      Henry 

Ustick,     Assistant     Bishop     of 

Pennsylvania,  58,  93. 
Orange  County,  N.  C,  56-57,  69, 

100. 
Order  of  the  Holy  Cross,  117,  125. 
Orton  plantation,  95. 
Osborne,    Rev.    Edwin    Augustus, 

165,  181.  195. 
Osborne,  Rev.  Francis  M.,  202. 


Osborne,  Roger,  207. 
Osborne,  Sarah,  207. 
Otey,    Rt.    Rev.    James    Hervey, 

Bishop  of  Tennessee.  58.  65-66, 

68,  82-83,  94,  129.  151,  160.  169. 
Oxford,  N.  C.  58,  227. 
Oxford,    England.    100,    122;    see 

also      Wilberforce,      Rt.      Rev. 

Samuel. 

Page,  Dr.  Matthew,  113-114. 
Palmer,  Gen..  171. 
Pamlico  Precinct,  22. 
Pamlico  River,  152. 
Pan-Anglican  Congress.  189. 
Paret,  Rt.  Rev.  William,  Bishop 

of  Maryland,  246. 
Paris,  France,  234. 
Parish  histories,  192-193.    , 
Parkei'.  Haywood,  157. 
Parker,  Rev.  John  Haywood,  154. 
Parker,  Mai-y,  208. 
Parkman,  Rev.  Charles  M.,  193. 
Passmore,  Rev.  William,  111. 
Pasquotank   Precinct  or  County, 

22-23. 
Pastoral  staff  presented  to  Bishop 

Lyman.  241-242. 
Patterson,  Rev.  George,  111,  165, 

201. 
Peuick,  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  Clifton, 

Bishop  of  Cape  Palmas,  South 

Africa,  199. 
Penusvlvania.  17,  33,  52,  92.  129, 

157,  163,  175,  179,  187,  209-211, 

235. 
Pensacola,  Fla.,  97. 
Perquimans  Parish,  23. 
Perquimans  Precinct,  22-23. 
Perry,  Rt.  Rev.  William  Stevens, 

Bishop  of  Iowa,  135,  162,  214. 
Peterborough,  Bishop  of,  33. 
Petersburg,  Va.,  37,  42,  143,  145, 

149. 
Petrie,    Rt.    Rev.   Arthur,    Scotch 

Bishop,  32. 
Pettigrew.     Rev.     Charles,     first 

Bishop-elect  of  North  Carolina, 

21-22,  29-30,  63,  94,  239. 
Pettigrew,  Mrs.  Charles,  63,  94. 
Pettigrew,   Rev.   Wiliam   S.,   231, 

238-239. 
Pettigrew  family,  98-100. 
Pettigrew's  Chapel.  29,  63,  99. 
Phelps,  Rev.  Girard  W.,  1.32,  165. 
Philadelphia,    Pa..    52,    58,    66-67, 

83-84.  86.  92.  96.   121.  152,  173, 

175-176  178,  218. 


Index. 


265 


riiilips.  Jiulse  Frederick.  2.18-239. 
I'hillips.  Kev.  .John,  5!). 
Phillips.  Rev.  John  Lott.  21. 
IMke.  Gen..  92. 

Pine.  Mountain.  Battle  of.  169. 
Pinknev.  Rt.  Rev.  William.  Bishop 

of  Maryland.  198. 
Pittsburg.  Pa.,  179.  211. 
Pitt  County.  N.  C.  57.  158.  232. 
Pittenger,  Rev.  I.  McK..  216,  243, 

248. 
Pittenger,  Mrs.  I.  McK..  242. 
Pitts.  Rev.  Thomas  D..  201. 
Pittsborough,   N.   C.   77,   155-156, 

196. 
Pius  IX.,  Pope,  127,  213. 
Plautation  Sketches,  by  Xrrs.  Dev- 

ereux.  158. 
"Pleasant,"  a  horse.  72-74. 
Pleasants.  Anne.  143. 
Plymouth,  N.  C,  169-170. 
Pocahontas.  42. 
Polk.   Rt.   Rev.  Leonidas.  Bishop 

of  Louisiana,  58-59.  78,  155,  160, 

190. 
Polk.  Col.  William.  78. 
Polk  famil.v  in  Tennessee,  83. 
Pollock,  Acting  Governor  Thomas, 

2(]. 

Population  of  the  colonj-  of  North 

Carolina.  IS. 
Porthkerry.  South  Wales,  42. 
Portsmouth.  Va..  171. 
Potter.   Rt.   Rev.   Alouzo.   Bishop 

of  Pennsylvania.  129. 

Potter.  Rt.  Rev.  Ploratio,  Bishop 

of  New  York,  179. 
Pow.  Rev.  William.  22. 
Presbyter    (or  priest),   office   of, 

9-11. 

Presbyterians.  31.  49.  60.  77,  91- 

92.  114,  144. 
Presbyterian  Clergyman   Looking 

for  the  Church,  by  Dr.  Mines, 

11. 
Priest,  office  of;  see  Presbyter. 
Prince,  Heni-y  A.,  157. 
Prince   George   County,    Va.,    37, 

40,  42. 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  ;  see 

Episcopal  Church,  and  Anglican 

Church. 
Prout.  Rev.  Heni-v  H..  111. 
Prout.  Mrs.  Henry  H..  113. 
"Provincial  System."  162. 
Provoost,  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel,  Bishop 

of  New  York,  33. 


Quakers.  19,  29,  31. 
Quelx'c.  Canada.  73. 
Queensland.  Bishop  of.  219. 
C^uin.  Rev.  Charles  Carroll,  249. 
(Juintard.  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  Todd, 
Bishop  of  Tennessee,  155,  198. 

Rainsford.  Rev.  Giles.  19-21. 

Raleigh.  Sir  Walter,  13-14. 

Raleigh.  N.  C.  51.  55.  57,  70-71, 
75.  93-94.  118,  125,  128,  144,  149- 
151.  153,  155,  157,  166,  174,  180- 
182.  193-194.  214,  216,  223,  235, 
245,  247.  250. 

Raleigh  Tavern,  Williamsburg, 
Va..  14.3. 

Randolph,  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred  Magill, 
Bishop  of  Southern  Virginia, 
2,3.3   249. 

Randolph.  .John,  44. 

Randolph  County.  N.  C.  217. 

Randolph.  Tenn..  82. 

Rathbun,  Rev.  Scott  B.,  181. 

Ranch.  .  24. 

Ravenscroft,  Anne,  41. 

Ravenscroft.  Anne  Spotswood 
Burwell.  45-46,  70. 

Ravenscroft.  Dionysia,  .38. 

Ravenscroft,  George  (son  of  Sam- 
uel ) .  38. 

Ravenscroft,  George  (son  of 
John),  41. 

Ravenscroft,  Jean,  41. 

Ravenscroft.  John.  38-40. 

Ravenscroft.  Dr.  John,  38,  41-43. 

Ravenscroft,  Rt.  Rev.  John 
Stark,  first  Bishop  of  North 
Carolina,  sketch  of,  37-88 ;  see 
also  11-13,  3.3.  91.  9.3-9.5,  101, 
104,  118,  153.  214.  2.33.  2.39,  251. 

Ravenscroft.  Lillias.  40-41 ;  see 
also  Miller,  Lillias,  and  Stew- 
art. Lillias. 

Ravenscroft,  Peyton,  41. 

Ravenscroft.  Capt.  Samuel,  38. 

Ravenscroft.  Samuel.  Jr.,  38. 

Ravenscroft,  Sarah,  .38. 

Ravenscroft,  Sarah  Buford,  70. 

Ravenscroft,  Col.  Thomas,  38-40. 

Ravenscroft  (the  See  House),  82. 

Ravenscroft  Academv,  Fayette- 
ville.  N.  C.  82. 

Ravenscroft  Chapel,  Tipton 
County,  Tenn.,  82-83. 

Ravenscroft  College,  Columbia, 
Tenn..  83. 

Ravenscroft  Grove.  Raleigh,  N,  C, 
82,  107. 


266 


Index. 


Raveuscroft  School,  Asheville, 
N.  C,  82,  103,  155-157,  179,  202. 

Bcasons  for  Being  a  Churchman, 
by  Dr.  Little,  10-11. 

Recent  Past,  from,  a  Southern 
Standpoint,  by  Bishop  Wilmer, 
98. 

Reed,  Rev.  James,  30. 

Reicl,  Rev.  John,  22. 

Religious  liberty  in  Carolina,  14- 
15. 

Republican  Methodists,  47-49 ;  see 
also  Methodists. 

Revolutionary  War,  Church's 
patriotism  in,  30-32. 

Reynolds,  Rt,  Rev.  Charles  Igna- 
tius, Roman  Catholic  Bishop, 
213. 

Rhode  Island,  143. 

Rice,  Rev.  Benjamin  H.,  144. 

Rice,  Rev.  John  H.,  84-85,  144. 

Rich,  Rev.  Edward  R.,  190,  201, 
216,  228,  230. 

Richardson,  Rev.  Mr.,  132. 

Richardson,  Nathaniel,  104. 

Richmond,   Rev.  William,  69,   71. 

Richmond,  Va.,  49-50,  94,  152,  164, 
216. 

Roanoke  Island  Colony,  13-14,  19. 

Roanoke  River,  157. 

Robeson  County,  N.  C,  231-232. 

Robertson,  Alexander,  245. 

Robertson,  Peter,  42. 

Robertson,  Susan  Boone,  245 ;  see 
also  Lyman,  Susan  Boone  Rob- 
ertson. 

Robinson,  Rev.  John.  47. 

Rochester,  Bishop  of,  29,  33. 

Rockfish,  N.  C,  168. 

Rocky  Mount,  N.  C,  158. 

Rolfe,  Jane,  42. 

Roman  Catholicism,  12-13,  31,  87, 
92,  94,  112-139,  211-213. 

Rome,  Italy,  126-128,  133,  211-212, 
222-223,  235. 

Root,  Mrs.  Charles,  242, 

Rose,  F.  R.,  238. 

Roulhac,  Joseph  B.  G.,  154. 

Round  Hill  Academy,  Northamp- 
ton, Mass.,  104,  108. 

Rowan,  Rev.  John,  22. 

Rowan  County,  N.  C,  24.  57,  69, 
192. 

Royal  Chapel,  Savoy,  London,  237. 

Royce,  Hannah,  91. 

Ruffin,  Chief  Justice  Thomas.  182. 

Rutledge,  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Huger, 
Bishop  of  Florida.  129,  160. 


St.  Agnes'  Hospital,  Raleigh,  N.  C, 

186. 
St.  Alban's  Abbey,  England,  221. 
St.     Alban's     Church,     Littleton, 

N.  C,  132. 
St.      Andrew's     Church,      Burke 

County,  N.  C,  57. 
St.    Andrew's    Church,    Philadel- 
phia, Pa..  135,  173. 
St.   Augustine's   Chapel,   Raleigh, 

N.  C,  186. 
St.    Augustine's    School,    Raleigh, 

N.  C.  186,  216,  248,  250. 
St.  Helena,  Cal.,  244. 
St.      James's      Church,      Iredell 

County,  N.  C,  193. 
St.  James's  Church,  Wilmington, 

N.   C,   57,   75,    79,   95,   97,    100, 

150,  166-167,  169,   191,  200-201, 
211,  232. 

St.    James's    College,    Maryland, 

175,  209-211,  244. 
St.  John's  Chapel,  New  York,  150. 
St.  John's  Church,  Dresden,  Ger- 
many, 234. 
St.    John's   Church,    Fayetteville, 

N.  C,  54-55,  57,  75,  101,  122,  182, 

208. 
St.    John's   Church,    Hagerstown, 

Md.,  209. 
St.  John's  Church,  Maury  County, 

Tenn.,  82-83. 
St.    John's   Church,    Washington, 

D.  C,  81. 
St.   John's   Church,   Williamsbor- 

ough,  N.  C,  57,  70,  153. 
St.    John's    Church,    Wilmington, 

N.  C,  192,  200. 
St.    John's    Parish,    Pasquotank 

Precinct.  N.  C,  22. 
St.  Jude's  Church,  Orange  County, 

N.  C,  57. 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  179. 
St.     Luke's     Church,     Salisbury, 

N.  C,  58,  154,  228. 
St.  Mark's  Church,  Halifax,  N.  C, 

57,  177. 
St.  Mark's  Church,  Iredell  County, 

N.  C,  193. 
St.   Mark's  Church,   Wilmington, 

N.  C,  182,  200. 
St.     Mary's        Church,     Orange 

County,  N.  C,  57. 
St.  Mary's  School,  Raleigh.  N.  C, 

82-83,  102-103,  105,  107-108.  135, 

151,  166,  174,  193-195,  210,  243. 


Index, 


267 


St.    Matthew's   Church,   Hillsbor- 
ough. N.  C.  182,  19."?. 
St.    Matthew's   Church,    Kinston, 

N.  C.  58. 
St.  Michael's  Church,  Charleston, 

S.  C.  2-15. 
St.     Michael's     Church,     Iredell 

County.  X.  C,  57. 
St.     Paul's     Cathedral,     London, 

210-220,  237. 
St.  Paul's  Church.  Edenton.  N.  C, 

22-23,  25-28,  57,  1)3,  100,  1G7,  103. 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Lynchburg,  Va., 

140. 
St.   Paul's  Church.  Norfolk,   Va., 

140. 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Milton.  N.  C, 

58. 
St.   Paul's   Church,   Philadelphia, 

Pa.,  52. 
St.   Paul's   Church,   Rome.   Italy, 

212. 
St.    Paul's    Church.    Wilmington, 

N.  C.  102,  200.  202. 
St.  Paul's  School.  Concord,  N.  H., 

211. 

St.    Peter's    Church.     Baltimore, 

Md..  122.  146.  148,  109. 
St.     Peter's     Church,     Charlotte, 

N.  C.  170,  195. 
St.    Peter's    Church,    Lexington, 

N.  C,  57. 
St.      Peter's      Church,      Lincoln 

County,  N.  C,  58. 

St.  Peter's  Church,  Pittsburg,  Pa., 

211. 
St.   Peter's   Church,   Washington, 

N.  C,  58,  152,  169. 
St.    Peter's    Hospital,    Charlotte, 

N.  C,  196. 
St.    Philip's   Church.    Brunswick, 

N.  C.  25,  27-28,  95,  192.  , 
St.    Philip's    Church.    Smithvllle 

(now  Southport),  N.  C,  192. 
St.     Stephen's     Church,     Oxford, 

N.  C,  58. 
St.  Thomas's  Church,  Bath.  N.  C, 

20,   22-25,   28,   53,   58,   152,    193, 

218. 

St.  Timothy's  Chapel,  near  Eden- 
ton, X.  C,  100. 

Salem,  Mass.,  40. 

Salem,  N.  C.  23,  63-64,  95-96,  153. 

Salem  Academy,  Salem,  N.  C, 
152. 

Salem  Chapel,  Orange  County, 
N.  C,  100. 


Salisbury.  N.  C,  24,  57-58,  60,  94, 

154,  227-228. 
Sampson  County.  N.  C.  2.32. 
San  FrancLsco,  Cal.,  213. 
Saunders,  Miss  Anne,  97. 
Saunders.   Rev.  .Joseph  Hubbard, 

97,  103-104. 
Saunders.  William  L.,  97. 
Savage,  Dionysia,  .38. 
Savage,  Thomas,  .38. 
Schereschewsky,  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel 
Isaac  .Joseph.  Missionary  Bish- 
op of  Shanghai,  China,  24(!. 
Scot.  Gen.  Patrick  George,  42. 
Scot.  Dr.  William,  42. 
Scotland  Neck,  N.  C,  170. 
Scott.  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  Fielding, 
Missionary  Bi.shop  of  Washing- 
ton and  Oregon,  151. 
Seabury,  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel,  Bishop 

of  Coiuiecticut,  .32-33. 
Seabury.  Rev.  Samuel.  126. 
Seal  of  the  Diocese,  8.  240. 
See    House ;    see    Bishop's    resi- 
dence. 
Sewanee,  160 ;  see  also  University 

of  the  South. 
Seymour,  Rt.  Rev.  George  Frank- 
lin, Bishop  of  Springfield,  214, 
233. 
Shanghai,  China,  246-247. 
Shaw,  Rev.  Mr.,  55. 
Sheltou,  Frederick  W.,  105. 
Sherman's  Army,  169. 
Shoenberger,  John  H.,  157. 
Sillinian.  Fanny,  91. 
Singletary,  Rev.  .John.  105. 
Skiles,   Rev.   William   West,   111, 

11.3,  167. 
Skinner,    Rt.   Rev.    John,    Scotch 

Bishop,  32. 
Skinner.  Joshua,  98.  100. 
Skipwith.  Sir  Peyton,  43. 
Slaughter.  Rev.  Philip,  145. 
Slaves ;  see  Negroes. 
Smedes.  Rev.  Aldert.  62,  83,  102. 
107-108,    135,    165-166,    193-194, 
228. 
Smedes.   Rev.   Bennett.   102.   165- 
166,  194,  202,  210,  240,  243,  248. 
Smedes,  Ives,  13.5. 
Smedes.  Rev.  John  E.  C,  186. 
Smirnoff.  Rev.  Mr..  235. 
Smith,  Rev.  Aristides  S..  165. 
Smith.    Rt.    Rev.    Benjamin    Bo.s- 
worth.  Bishop  of  Kentucky,  69, 
129. 
Smith,  Rev.  J.  Brinton,  186. 


268 


Index. 


Smith,  James  Norfleet,  100. 
Smith,  Richard  H.,  100,  176,  190, 

228. 
Smith.  Rev.  Walter  J.,  181,  195. 
Smith,  William  Riiffin,  100,  196. 
Smithfield,  N.  C  31. 
Smithville  (now  Southport),  N.  C, 

95,  192. 
Smithwick,  Edward.  26. 
Smyrna  Church,  Lincoln  County, 

N.  C,  57. 
Society    for    the    Promotion     of 

Christian  Knowledge.  105. 
Society    for    the    Propagation    of 

the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  3, 

le,  20,  105,  122.  219. 
Somerset  plantation.  85. 
South  Africa,  42,  199. 
South  Carolina,  22.  52.  58.  93,  95, 

106,   147-148.   151,   155,   160-161, 

163.  194,  199,  213,  231.  233,  245, 

247,  252. 

Southern  ChnrcJiman,  216. 

Southern  Virginia,  249. 

Southgate,  Rt.  Rev.  Horatio,  re- 
tired Bishop,  150. 

South  Mountain,  175. 

Southport  (formerly  Smithville), 
N.  C.  95,  192. 

South  Wales.  42. 

Southwark,  Pa.,  93. 

Southwest,  Missionary  Jurisdic- 
tion of  the,  129,  161-163,  174, 
198,  214. 

Southwest  Parish  of  Chowan 
Precinct,  23. 

Southwest  Parish  of  Pasquotank 
Precinct.  23. 

Spalding,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Franklin, 
Bishop  of  Colorado,  219. 

Spanish  Armada,  14. 

Spencer,  Rt.  Rev.  George  Trevor, 
Bishop  of  INIadras,   India,   150. 

Spokane,  Wash.,  247. 

Sprague,  Rev.  William  B.,  85. 

Springfleld,  111.,  233. 

Spruill.  Frank  S.,  243. 

Spruill,  George  E.,  105. 

Stanly,  John,  54. 

Stark,  Rebecca,  40. 

Stark,  William.  40. 

Stauber, ,  23. 

Steiner,  Dr.  Bernard  C.  209. 

Stevens.  Rt.  Rev.  William  Bacon, 
Assistant  Bishop  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, 163,  175.  187. 

Stewart,  Rev.  Alexander,  20-22, 
25,  58. 


Stewart,  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  James, 
Bishop  of  Quebec,  73. 

Stewart,  Gilbert  McLeod.  41. 

Stewart,  Rev.  Henry  Holmes,  41. 

Stewart,  James,  41-42. 

Stewart,  Keith,  41. 

Stewart,  Lillias,  73,  75-76  ;  see  also 
Miller,  Lillias ;  and  Ravens- 
croft,  Lillias. 

Stewart,  Patrick,  41. 

Stewai't,  Rev.  Ravenscroft,  41. 

Stewart,  Stair,  41. 

(See  also  Stuart.) 

Stith,  Anne,  43. 

Stoneland  plantation,  4.5. 

Stony-lonesome  plantation,  108. 

Strange,  Judge  Robert,  82. 

Strange,  Col.  Robert,  176,  228. 

Strange.  Rt.  Rev.  Robert.  Bishop 
of  Bast  Carolina,  199,  216,  224, 
233,  238,  246. 

Stuart.  Charles,  82. 

( See  also  Stewart. ) 

Suffragan  Bishop,  office  of,  190. 

Summit,  N.  C,  177. 

Sutton,  Rev.  Robert  B.,  186,  225- 
226. 

Swift,  John  H.,  179. 

Talbot,  Rev.  John,  17. 
Tarborough,    N.    C,    56,    58,    238- 

239.  246. 
Tate,  Col.  Samuel  McDowell,  227. 
Tavlor,  Rev.  Charles  Edward,  22, 

.30. 
Taylor,  Chief  Justice  John  Louis, 

59. 
Tennessee,    18.    66-67.    82-83,    94, 

129,  151.  155,  160-161,  169,  198, 

217-218. 
Texas,  132,  155.  160-161. 
Thomas,  Gen.  George  H.,  172. 
Thomas,  Rev.  Samuel.  22. 
Thompson,  Rt.  Rev.  Hugh  Miller, 

Bishop  of  Mississippi,  214. 
Thompson.  Lewis,  195. 
Thompson  Orphanage,  Charlotte, 

N.  C,  195-196,  247.  250.     , 
Thurston,  Rev.  William.  111. 
Tillinghast,  Rev.  John  Huske,  165. 
Tipton  County.  Tenn.,  82. 
Toale,  Rev.  William,  22. 
Tokio.  Japan,  247. 
Tremlett,  Rev.  Dr.,  223. 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  31. 
Trials  of  a  Mind  in  Its  Progress 
to    Catholicism,    by    ex-Bishop 

Ives,  133,  135. 


Index. 


269 


Trinity  Church.  Asheville.  N.  C, 

235. 
Trinity      Church.      Choeowinity, 

Beaufort  County.  X.  C.  54,  58. 
Trinity    Church.    Columbus,    Ga., 

G6. 
Trinity  Church.  New  York,  63. 
Trinity  Church.  Phihulelphia,  Pa., 

!)2.  !)4. 
Trinity    Church.    Pitt.'^burg,    Pa., 

211. 
Trinity    Church.    San    Francisco, 

Cal..  213. 
Trinity    Church.    Scotland   Neck, 

N.  C,  170. 
Trinity  Church,  Tarborough,  N.  C, 

58. 
Trinity  College.  Hartford,  Conn., 

69.  175.  199,  211,  245-246. 
Trinity  College,   North   Carolina, 

217. 
Trinity       School.       Choeowinity, 

Beaufort  County.  X.  C.  196. 
Trinity  School.  Wake  County,  N.  C, 

103,  108-109. 
Tucker,  Judge  Henrv  St.  George, 

145. 
Tucker,  Mrs.  Rufus  S..  242. 
Tucker,  St.  George.  145. 
Tucker.  Mrs.  William  T..  242. 
Turner.  Rev.  Job,  223. 
Tyler,  Dr.  Lyon  G.,  39. 
Tyler.  Dr.  Moses  Coit.  224. 
Tyng.  Rev.  Stephen  H.,  55. 

Unit  as    Fratum;    see    Moravian 

Church. 
University  of  Aberdeen,  57. 
University  of  Edinburgh.  40. 
University  of  North  Carolina,  75, 

96.  109.  135.  199,  244. 
University  of  the   South,   at   Se- 

wanee.  Tenn..  1.55,  168.  215. 
University   of   Virginia,    75,    143- 

146. 
Union    Chapel,    Wayne    County, 

N.  C,  58. 
Upfold,  Rt.  Rev.  George,  Bishop 

of  Indiana,  129. 
Upjohn,  Richard.  62. 
Urmstone,  Rev.  John,  20-22. 

Valle  Crusis  Mission.  Watauga 
County.  N.  C.  94,  102,  109-113, 
115-116,  125,  167. 

Valley  Forge,  30. 

Van  Antwerp.  David  D.,  202. 

Van  Rensselaer,  Miss  Marie  An- 
toinette, 242. 


Vaughan.  Rev.  Maurice  Hamilton, 
165. 

Vermont.  129.  173.  207. 
Vine  Hill  i)Iantation.  225. 
Virginia,  14.  19,  22.  3.3.  37-52,  55- 

57,   66,   68.   70.   73,   '.)4.   97,   104, 

129,  152,  160-161.  165,  169.  171, 

201,  210,  223,  233.  249. 
Viifjinia  Magazine  of  History  and 

Biography,  40. 

Wachovia,  N.  C,  23. 
Waddell.  Alfred  Moore,  239. 
Waddell,  Maurice  Q.,  77-78. 
Wadesborough.  N.  C,  57.  95,  169. 
Wainwright.    Rt.    Rev.    Jonathan 

Mayhew.  Px-ovisional  Bishop  of 

New  York.  84.  129. 
Wake  County,  N.  C,  73. 
Walker.  Gov.  Henderson.  26. 
Walker,  Rev.  William  243. 
Walling.  William,  25. 
Wallingford,  Conn.,  132. 
Walton,  Col.  Thomas  George,  225- 

227. 

Warrenton,  N.  C,  57,  93,  103-104. 

Washington,  George,  31. 

Washington  State,  247. 

Washington,  D.  C,  81. 

Washington.  N.  C,  56,  58,  101, 
169,  196-197. 

Washington  County,  Md..  210. 

Watauga  County,  N.  C,  109. 

Watauga  Valley,  N.  C.  110. 

V\'aters,  Rev.  Cyrus,  171. 

Watson.  Rt.  Rev.  Alfred  Augus- 
tin.  Bishop  of  East  Carolina, 
121.  165-167.  190,  193.  201,  214, 
228-229,  232-233,  238-239,  246, 
248-249. 

Wayne  County,  N.  C,  232. 

Waynesborough,  N.  C,  58. 

Weddington.  X.  Y.,  118. 

Welles.  Rt.  Rev.  Edward  Ran- 
dolph. Bishop  of  Wisconsin,  199. 

Wells.  Rt.  Rev.  Lemuel  Henry, 
Bishop  of  Spokane,  247. 

Wei  ton.  Rev.  Richard,  17. 

West,  John  Spence,  54. 

Westchester  County.  N.  Y.,  134- 
1.36. 

West  Durham,  N.  C,  225. 
Western  New  York.  129. 
Weston.  Rev.  James  A..  165. 
Wetmore,  Rev.  William  R..  169. 
Whinstou  [Winston?].  Rev.  , 


270 


Index. 


Whipple,  Rt.  Rev.  Henry  Benja- 
min, Bishop  of  Minnesota,  236. 

Whitaker,  Rev.  Walter  C,  98. 

White,  Rt.  Rev.  William,  Bishop 
of  Pennsylvania,  33,  52,  92-93. 

Whitehaven  Church,  Lincoln 
County,  N.  C,  57. 

Whitehouse,  Rt.  Rev.  Henry  John, 
Bishop  of  Illinios,  129,  187. 

White  Plains,  Battle  of,  30. 

Whittingham,  Rt.  Rev.  William 
Rollinsou,  Bishop  of  Maryland, 
129,  148,  209-210,  214. 

Whittle,  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  Mc- 
Neece,  Bishop  of  Virginia,  201. 

Wilberforce,  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel, 
Bishop  of  Oxford,  196,  225 ;  see 
also  Oxford.  Bishop  of. 

Wilberforce  School,  Morganton, 
N.  C,  156,  196,  225-227. 

Wilder,  John,  149. 

Wilder,  Josepha  Gwinn,  149;  see 
also  Atkinson,  Josepha  Gwinn. 

Wilkes,  Capt.  John,  170,  230,  249. 

Wilkinson,  Col.  William,  26. 

William  and  Mary  College,  Wil- 
liamsburg, Va.,  44,  75,  104,  156. 

Williams,  Rt.  Rev.  John,  Assist- 
ant Bishop  of  Connecticut,  129, 

Williamsborough.  N.  C,  57-58,  66, 
70-71,  78-79,  153. 

Williamsburg,  Va.,  37,  143;  see 
also  William  and  Mary  College. 

Wills,  Rev.  John,  22. 

Wilmer,  Rev.  George  T.,  97,  156. 

Wilmer,  Rt.  Rev.  Joseph  Pere 
Bell.  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  98, 
219-220. 

Wilmer.  Rt.  Rev.  Richard  Hooker, 
Bishop  of  Alabama,  97-98,  115, 
161,  163-164,  172-173. 


^Vilmington,  N.  C,  25,  54-57,  75, 

79,  95,   100,   105,   111,   150,   153, 

165-167,   169,   179,   188,   191-192, 

199-202,  223,  228,  232. 
Wilson,  Turaer,  63. 
Wilson,  N.  C,  158. 
Wilson  County,  N.  C,  231. 
Winchester,  Va.,  145. 
Winchester  (England),  Bishop  of, 

220. 
Wmdley,  Rev.  Robert  B.,  192. 
Windsor,  Conn.,  207. 
Wiugfield,   Rt.   Rev.   John   Henry 

Duchachet,  Bishop  of  Northern 

California,  171,  199,  214,  246. 
Winslow,  Rev.  Edward,  57. 
Winslow,  Edward  Lee,  57,  85,  105, 

168. 
Winslow,   John    (Boston,  Mass.), 

38. 
Winslow,   John    (Fayetteville,   N. 

C),  54,  56-57. 
Winslow,  Warren,  57. 
Winston,  Dr.  George  T.,  242. 
Winston  (?)  ;  see  Whinston. 
Winston.  N.  C,  153,  197. 
Winston-Salem,   N.   C,   180,  252; 

see  Salem,  N.  C. 
Wisconsin,  129,  199. 
Woodmason,  Rev.  Charles,  22. 
Wright,  John  W.,  82,  84. 
Wright,  Rev.  Thomas,  69. 

Wutke,  ,  24. 

Wythe,  George,  44. 

Yale  University,  145.  208. 
Yellow  fever  epidemic,  166-167. 
York.  Archbishops  of,  33,  237. 
York,  England,  187. 
Yorktown,  Va.,  30,  165. 


[the  end.] 


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